Tryfan
Since my first venture into the Snowdonian mountains, there was one peak that, when I first laid eyes on it, I knew would be an exhilarating one to climb. Its steep, shark fin like profile cutting itself through the Glyderau range. It's north ridge route is ranked as a Grade I scramble, so there would be hands-on-rock.
It was time to climb Tryfan.
It was a glorious, sunny August morning as I pulled into the already packed car park on the A5 opposite Llyn Ogwen. After a short walk along the road, a gate lead directly onto the grassy lower slopes, with Tryfan's huge rocky cliffs looming right above.
It pulled no punches, and the scrambling started almost straight away, as I navigated my way between, and over some huge boulders below Milestone Buttress.
I could see some people ahead, and looking up could see a drystone wall with a ladder stile, which is the first point I was aiming for.
Whether there was actually a path on this part, I'm not so sure, but I made my way over the rocks, and climbed upto and over the ladder stile. This is where I met the main path which came up from a bit further along the A5 road.
There were quite a few people heading up, some lone walkers, couples, families & groups. With the current restrictions in place, everyone was keeping their distance where they could.
The path zig-zagged its way steeply up the gully above the stile, and I passed a few people who had already paused to catch their breath - but I knew this was only the beginning.
From road to summit, its little over half a mile 'as the crow flies' but in that short distance, you also have to climb almost 2,000 feet!
Height was gained very quickly, and both the road and Llyn Ogwen were already becoming smaller each time I looked back.
At the top of the gully, the path turned right to directly face up the ridge. It seemed to head in two different directions, both with short vertical rocky scrambles to navigate. A group of lads were stood at the bottom of the right scramble, weighing up which route to take, so I went for the right scramble, laid hands on rock and made my way up the rock, rejoining a flat path a few feet higher. This was pretty straight-forward, and was no worse than anything I had tackled in the Lake District. I overheard another walker speaking to the group of lads, and mentioned to them that he had climbed Tryfan "over 10 times, and took a different route each time".
Being August, the heather was in full bloom, and its purple flowers and green foliage contrasted to the grey rock was perfect foreground for the epic views beyond, and this was a trend that would continue throughout the weekend (so expect more heather photos to come!)
However, with the steep rocky terrain I was to encounter, I decided to pack away my camera, and took the remaining photos of the climb on my phone. The last thing I wanted was for my camera to whack against the rock whilst scrambling!
A slight plateau was reached next, where a few people were resting. I headed towards the next part of the climb when I spotted one of Tryfan's landmarks - the Cannon Stone. So named because it looks like a cannon aimed to fire.
A few people decided to climb out onto the stone for a photo on the end - but I decided that wasn't for me - but I did manage to grab a photo of the stone during a lull.
Ahead was the first serious scramble. At first glance, a near vertical tower of rock lay ahead, but taking a closer look, and where other scramblers were, I picked out the route up.
Although an overall challenging scramble, I realised the variations in the rock meant you could tailor your route to be as 'easy' or as difficult as you wanted. I recalled the words of the chap from earlier - that you can take a different route each time. Another piece of advice I had gathered from a YouTube video was "if you're not going up, you're going the wrong way!"
If you ended up getting stuck behind someone on their way up, it was just a matter of taking a moment to survey the rock to find a different route around them. Of course, there were certain 'choke points', but overall it was a fantastic climb. On reaching the top of this tower, I realised, as I have many time before in the Lakes, that this was only a false summit, the true top still lay ahead. I was on top of the Nor Nor Buttress, and from here there was a short down-climb called The Notch. Taking it steady heading down the rock, and crossing the gully, the climb out of The Notch took me onto another plateau, with another vertical rock tower ahead. This one was much more intimidating, but I just put my prior experience to good use, and grabbed onto the rock.
Grade I scrambling is the 'easiest' form of scrambling, and blurs the line between hiking and climbing. Grade I means no specialist rock climbing equipment is required, so no ropes, helmets, etc. There are some 'rules' for scrambling though:
Having three points of contact to the rock - you need to be as stable as possible when ascending the rock, and this ensures maximum contract whilst moving - so having at least two hands and a foot, or two feet and one hand on contract with the rock, when moving up the terrain.
Balance is also important when scrambling up rock, and a rule of thumb is to keep your nose directly above the knee of your leading leg. This way your centre of gravity is kept central, if a little bit forward, to take into account a rucksack. In any circumstance, you need to make sure your centre of gravity is weighted as close to the rock you are climbing. There's nothing wrong in getting up close & personal with the rock face, & it's ultimately better than the alternative - falling backwards.
There are also 3 foot positions to be considered when scrambling to get a stable footing:
Wedging - simple enough - wedging your foot between two rocks. (Although make sure you can get it out of the wedge in your next move!)
Edging - placing your foot parallel along the edge of a rock
Smearing - placing your foot directly onto a flat / flatish rock to increase the amount of surface area contact between the sole of your boot & the rock.
Once again, the North Summit turned out to be a false summit, but from its top, the true summit was finally revealed & it wasn't too far away. The was another down-climb needed though, and this was slightly trickier and longer than the one in The Notch, but taking it slow & steady meant I managed it without any issue.
A short scramble up the other side, and I navigated a boulder path up the remainder of the ridge, eventually topping out onto the surprisingly busy boulder field summit.
The view from the summit was truly spectacular - looking over the Glyderau & Carneddau mountain ranges, and even Anglesey made an appearance down the valley to the north west.
The top of Tryfan has two prominent features - Siôn a Siân - (or the Adam & Eve stones in English), although no-one is quite sure which rock is Adam, or which is Eve. The rocks are approximately 10 feet tall, and 4 foot apart & have been smoothed by wind & rain over millions of years, and decades of boots. These mark the true summit of Tryfan - at an altitude of 3,010 feet.
Tradition states that for adventurers wanting to earn the 'Freedom of Tryfan' they must leap between the two rock monoliths.
There were quite a few groups lingering around the rocks, with people taking turns to climb onto them. Some would climb up, have second thoughts about the leap, have a photo, then climb down, but some people were taking the leap.
After building up the courage, I decided that as it was my first time climbing the mountain, I wouldn't really have made it to the top of Tryfan unless I earned it's 'Freedom' and conquered the mountain. One chap from a group stood next to the rock offered to take my photo after they had finished, so I took on his offer and took off my rucksack. When it was my turn, I hoisted myself up onto the left rock using a slight foothold on the rock. Stood on top, there was a precipitous drop on one side, and the top of the rocks were quite smooth. In windy and wet conditions, what I was about to do wouldn't have even crossed my mind. I took a deep breath and leapt forward....
My heart was pounding when I placed both feet on the right-hand rock, and the adrenaline was in full flow, but I had done it. I just had to leap back the other way!
After earning the 'Freedom of Tryfan', and all the benefits that come with it - although I'm stillto find out what those are, apart from bragging rights - I sat down, and had a rest. It had taken me around three hours from leaving the car park to climb the half-a-mile & 2,000 feet to get to the top.... and I could still see my car down below!
For the descent, I headed down the south ridge - still a bit scrambly in places - but otherwise a much more 'family friendly' rocky path route to the col of Bwlch Tryfan. From here, the more adventurous could continue south & tackle the Bristly Ridge scramble up onto Glyder Fach. I, however, turned right, and followed the path down the hillside to the lovely little lake of Llyn Bochlwyd (or Lake Australia as some people call it, due to its distinctive shape). This was a perfect spot for lunch, so I headed to the shore, and found a spot to relax.
From the Llyn, I could have taken the direct route back down to the car park, but instead I decided to venture across to Llyn Idwal just over half a mile to the east. After filtering some water from the llyn, I set off .
There was a good path heading across the lower slopes of the Y Gribin ridge, and from the highest point of the path, there was a lovely view back across Llyn Bochlwyd to Tryfan, and yep, I even managed to find a small bunch of heather to include in the shot!
Leaving Bochlwyd behind, I headed west and was soon on the slopes above Cwm Idwal. It was a steep drop down & the path dwas faint, and slightly boggy in places. I soon got to the bottom, and met the shoreline of Llyn Idwal. This area is a nature reserve with SSSI status (Site of Special Scientific Interest), and I believe is also home to some Welsh ponies, although none were to be seen today.
Like many mountain lakes, this is a glacial lake formed at by retreating glaciers as the last ice age cam to an end. The dramatic cliff faces surrounding the llyn include the Idwal Slabs, a popular spot for rock climbers to 'cut-their-teeth', and the Devil's Kitchen, a vertical cleft in the rock.
From the llyn, it was a straight-foward walk along a good track by the side of the shoreline which then headed back down to the visitor centre at Idwal Cottage. A short walk along the road then took me back to my car, where I could restock & prepare for the next part of my adventure...
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