| One of the factors in Tryfans popularity is that
it is easily accessible from the main A5 road trunk
road which snakes its way through the Ogwen valley on
its way to Bangor from Betws-y-Coed. There is plenty
of lay by parking alongside the A5 next to Llyn Ogwen,
although in summer due to its popularity I would suggest
getting there as early as possible. From the side of
the road a gate leads to the path below the Milestone
Buttress, a huge bulk of rock at the bottom of Tryfans
north side very popular with climbers. The Milestone
Buttress gets its name from the Mile Stone from the
old road situated on the main road below.
Tryfan
|
Milestone Buttress
|
Follow the path towards Milestone Buttress until you
reach the huge walls and a style on your right hand
side over the dry stone wall which you have hand railed
along the path. Ignoring the obvious path over the style
instead go left up the rough path that climbs steep
up towards the left hand shoulder of the Milestone Buttress.
The path is obvious but fairly rough at times as it
climbs over some large boulders. The path tends to spread
out the higher you get. As you approach the bottom of
the ridge proper and get away from the Milestone Buttress
you now have two choices, you can either carry on round
slightly to join another path which leads to the bottom
of the ridge proper or you can start your scrambling
now and tackle the rocky cliffs to your right hand side,
both paths end up in pretty much the same place but
the scrambling is far more exciting and good practice
for what lies waiting for you on the ridge.
Ogwen Valley
|
Canon Rock
|
Eventually the path will reach the point where a few
paths join at the bottom of the ridge. If you look over
to your right at this point you'll see a small opening,
this flat area is covered in stunning white quartzite
rock, but most noticeable is the huge Canon rock which
stands out like a canon at facing into the sky. This
famous rock is one of the most common features of Tryfan
and rightly so. After taking the obligatory snap of
yourself stood on the Canon Rock with its impressive
Ogwen Valley backdrop carry on up the ridge path. The
path comes to a stone gully which at first glance looks
difficult but is actually an easy climb as it acts like
a natural step ladder with useful rocky outcrops. When
you reach the top of the small gully you will be on
a small plateau.
From this vantage point you look right into the face
of one of the steepest sections of the North Ridge.
From here many people turn back as the rock face is
a very powerful and over whelming site, those like myself
who get over excited at such things will find this a
very satisfying sight. There is actually a way round
this rock face to the left of it which isn't obvious
from here but if you round the corner you will see a
ledge walk that leads round the top of the ridge avoiding
the hard scrambling work of the actually ridge crest.
However if your like me then you'll be heading for openings
in the rock face and licking your lips ready for one
of the nations greatest rock scrambles.
The North Ridge
|
Tryfan Gully
|
The scrambling is said to be a grade one although I
often think at times this may be slightly under rated
as there is no obvious route so you may find yourself
working harder than you expected. It is very easy to
become anxious when scrambling but it is always important
to make sure you stay calm, patient and do it in your
own time. One rule people suggest when scrambling is
to make sure you don't climb anything you couldn't get
back down from. After scrambling up the first part of
the ridge crest you will come to the first of two sliced
out gullies that cross the ridge from left to right,
car should be taken when crossing these.
After the hard climbs and scrambles to the the final
and highest summit of Tryfan you will come to one of
the most famous summit sights in Britain, Adam and Eve.
These two huge standing stone boulders top out on Tryfans
summit and are that big they can even be seen from the
A5 road 600m below the mountain. Jumping from one of
these huge monoliths to the other is a very brave yet
popular activity. It is commonly known as the Leap Of
Faith. Legend has it that one who jumps the terrifying
gap of around 4 feet at an altitude of 3000ft is then
proclaimed Freemen of Tryfan. I have taken the leap
of faith myself and despite standing legs trembling
on Adam for several minutes I took my life into my own
hands and went for it and was then the proudest man
on the mountain. I recommend it to anyone however make
sure the stone aren't wet, you may also actually have
difficult getting on the stones as they are actually
around 6 or 7 foot high of the ground.
Adam & Eve
|
Y Garn
|
The name Tryfan is actually pronounced as Try-Van in
welsh. The mountain is said to be named Tryfan after
its three noticeable summits, Try translating to three
and Fan a welsh word for a rocky peak or beacon. If
you look south no you will see the Far South Peak of
Tryfan. To the north are the Carneddau range of mountain
first in view the huge Pen yr Ole Wen. To the south
west the huge Glyderau range of mountains with the massive
peaks of Glyder Fawr and Glyder Fach and across to the
west is the impressive summit of Y Garn over the beautiful
waters of Llyn Idwal. This is one of my favorite valleys
and the views from the summit of Tryfan are breath taking
on a clear day, with the summit being just slightly
below the height of its lofty neighbors it is often
lucky enough to be just under the height of escaping
cloud cover.
The Glyders and the Ogwen Valley from
Tryfan
|
From the summit follow a route directly to Tryfans
Far South Peak. There is no actual path here instead
you have to clamber over the huge boulders that are
strewn across the summits. These can be pretty dangerous
and slippery in bad weather and care should be taken,
also look out for snow covered hidden holes in winter.
After topping out on the Far South Peak follow the path
down into Bwlch Tryfan. Join the path now that leads
up from Cwm Bochlywd and follow it down to the right
to the shores of Llyn Bochlwyd.
The route back to the road is now obvious down a well
laid path that follows the course of the Nant Bochlwyd.
The mighty Pen yr Ole Wen stands in front of you and
is a great sight as the sun shines on it in the afternoon.
If you have parked further towards the east end of Llyn
Ogwen then follow a slightly less obvious path that
leads off from the main path at the bottom of the Nant
Bochlwyd falls passing the Bochlwyd Buttress. All paths
lead down to the A5.
|
Duration
: 4 Hrs
