The East Face of Tryfan
Looking over to the summit
Right.....Hands up, who love Tryfan?! Yes, as one of Snowdon’s most popular mountains, there is indeed just something about Tryfan.
Whether it be due to its links to the legend of King Arthur and his round table (according to folklore Sir Bedivere resting place is on Tryfan), that it is the only mountain in Wales that you can only get to the top of by using your hands, or that there is much debate about how you pronounce it.
Or is it that, quite frankly, its rugged looks and wild features just make it look cool?
Whatever it is I am not alone in the masses that love this mountain. At 3,012ft (918m) it holds its own in the busy mountainous landscape, sticking out with its shark tooth appearance like it belongs to some far flung mountain range. When the sunshine’s on it, it looks challenging yet pleasing, when it is dark and stormy, it looks horrifically scary, and if you attempt it at night, it’s like you’re in Lord Of the Rings (minus the orks... .or maybe not).
Whether it be due to its links to the legend of King Arthur and his round table (according to folklore Sir Bedivere resting place is on Tryfan), that it is the only mountain in Wales that you can only get to the top of by using your hands, or that there is much debate about how you pronounce it.
Or is it that, quite frankly, its rugged looks and wild features just make it look cool?
Whatever it is I am not alone in the masses that love this mountain. At 3,012ft (918m) it holds its own in the busy mountainous landscape, sticking out with its shark tooth appearance like it belongs to some far flung mountain range. When the sunshine’s on it, it looks challenging yet pleasing, when it is dark and stormy, it looks horrifically scary, and if you attempt it at night, it’s like you’re in Lord Of the Rings (minus the orks... .or maybe not).
Tryfan always pulls me back so with the weather forecast set to be good, I headed off to Snowdonia to once again experience Tryfan. Arriving at Gwern Gof Uchaf campsite, a stone’s throw from Llyn Ogwen and Tryfan, with a host of wildlife around me, I set up my tent and sat out on a lovely spring evening. With a visit from the campsite’s turkey looking bird and a beer in my hand I watched the sun turning the sky turned from burnt orange to inky black as I saw the last of the infamous Adam and Eve boulders. Whilst wandering about the campsite at dusk, my attention was brought to the silhouette of Tryfan where I noticed a line of twinkling lights against the mountain. It was people on a night navigation, making their way up the East face to the summit. An intriguing sight, adding to the magic and mysticism of the peak.
Ascending Tryfan with view over to Llyn Ogwen
The next morning I awoke to clear blue skies and a chorus of bird song. After a quick breakfast I headed off from the camp site down the A5 to Llyn Ogwen where I picked up the path onto Tryfan toward the Milestone Buttress, a popular location for climbers. Once passed this point you can traverse the East side via Heather Terrace, nicely named but not relevant as this path continues to be rocky and craggy. This time, with experience of Tryfan, I opted to head straight up the rocky boulders toward the summit, enjoying every bit of the scramble whilst stopping every now and then to look back at the view down to Lyn Ogwen and across to the Carneddau,. As I manoeuvred more over the the North West side before the saddle to get the real scrambling in I found a great cut out in the rock which would fit me nicely while creating a seat with a great view
. I decided to sit here for a bit and managed to shuffle in backwards so I could comfortably perch on my stone throne, legs crossed, my daysack next to me and sat there pondering and wondering and appreciating the beautiful sights that were displayed in front of me. As this is off the main rout I wasn't expecting company but when I heard the nearing male voices I realised that a group of guys were obviously making their way up close to where I was sat and form below, hidden. To be faced with a head bobbing up over the edge with a sudden look of shock and bewilderment when confronted by a petite blonde sat in an outcrop in front of him, brought much amusement o us both. Once laughter had ceased and explanation given the chaps carried on while I gave it about 15mins before I set off so as to give them time to get some distance. Carrying on up to the saddle where Tryfan’s first peak comes into view, I stopped to take some photos only to hear a familiar sound behind me. Yet again the group of guys came bobbing up over the rocks to be again, confronted by a petite blonde, one that looked very similar to the petite blonde that they left behind about 25mins ago. Another look of bewilderment and a question “Excuse me, do you have a twin sister as we set off in front of her”...god knows how I made it up before them without us seeing each other but it may be to do with my kamikaze North Western approach scrambling, or that I’m often compared to a mountain goat.
After a quick lunch stop I continued up the rocks, passing the Cannon (a rock boulder that sticks out at a 45 degree angle that can be seen from the valley) climbing up some boulders that were reaching six foot, here it became a much more technical climb before I veered towards the South East ridge again. With the sun on my back and the wind on my hair I continued happily before the view of the summit came into close sight, A bit more scrambling later and I was on top of the peak amongst a crowd of folk that had stopped to admire the view and attempt Adam & Eve. Now, a little bit about the infamous ‘Adam & Eve’. They are a pair of rocks about 3 metres high with a space of just over a meter between them. These twin monoliths, when seen from the valley, resemble two human figures, and have been often mistaken for stranded walkers on the mountain or mystical figures in the mist.
Adam & Eve
The tradition here is to jump (or step) from the top of one to the other, sounds easy buy you have to take into account the massive drop to one side. Once the action is completed successfully (i.e. they survived) the person has then gained the ‘Freedom of Tryfan’.
On this occasion, I passed on the tradition as in Snowdon sunshine brings more than flower bloom, and the queue to get to Adam & Eve was like something like a Next sale. To say the summit was bustling is an understatement.
Once I got away from the crowded summit I continued over toward the Far South peak c.2 788ft (850m) and down to Bwch Tryfan, a fairly steep scree path which leads down to Llyn Bochlwyd. Passing a group of Duke of Edinburgh Award children who were about to start up Tryfan, then asked me whether there was a Starbucks at the top as their teacher had told them there was. I had to be the bearer of bad news and replied that no, there’s no Startbucks.....there’s a Costa.
On this occasion, I passed on the tradition as in Snowdon sunshine brings more than flower bloom, and the queue to get to Adam & Eve was like something like a Next sale. To say the summit was bustling is an understatement.
Once I got away from the crowded summit I continued over toward the Far South peak c.2 788ft (850m) and down to Bwch Tryfan, a fairly steep scree path which leads down to Llyn Bochlwyd. Passing a group of Duke of Edinburgh Award children who were about to start up Tryfan, then asked me whether there was a Starbucks at the top as their teacher had told them there was. I had to be the bearer of bad news and replied that no, there’s no Startbucks.....there’s a Costa.
I then continued on the path over to Llyn Idwal with the Glyders in the background and stood musing for a while, thinking about the legend of this lake. Apparently Llyn Idwal is named after Idwal, the son of, Owain the ancient Prince of Gwyneddd, following the legend that Idwal was murdered by being drowned in the lake. I have also found since that folklore states that no bird flies over the lake as a result of this terrible death, though I have not yet tested this theory!
From the lake I followed the path to Ogwen cottage which was choka so I grabbed a coffee from the vendor and went over to sit by Llyn Ogwen to see if I could see the Lady in the Lake to which Excalibur was given back and laid to rest. After a while, and no sign of the Lady, I continued back up the A5 road to the campsite where I sat in peaceful surroundings and watched the buzzards soar over the crags. Once again Tryfan had offered something a bit different from the surrounding 3000 foot-ers of Snowdonia and as I sat and looked over to the mountain, I could have sworn I saw two people stood motionless for a very long time thinking.....maybe I should call mountain rescue?
From the lake I followed the path to Ogwen cottage which was choka so I grabbed a coffee from the vendor and went over to sit by Llyn Ogwen to see if I could see the Lady in the Lake to which Excalibur was given back and laid to rest. After a while, and no sign of the Lady, I continued back up the A5 road to the campsite where I sat in peaceful surroundings and watched the buzzards soar over the crags. Once again Tryfan had offered something a bit different from the surrounding 3000 foot-ers of Snowdonia and as I sat and looked over to the mountain, I could have sworn I saw two people stood motionless for a very long time thinking.....maybe I should call mountain rescue?
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