Hill: Tryfan
Date: Saturday 19th April 2014
Company: Just myself
Distance: 7.9km, Ascent: 920m
Time: 5Hrs 10Mins


The forecast for today was excellent, the actual weather was even better .
On a really good day it is worth doing a really good hill. I therefore set out to ascend Tryfan.

Tryfan is a remarkable mountain with great scrambling and climbing on its slopes. Today I decided to ascend the North ridge and descend via the South ridge. The North Ridge of Tryfan must be one of the best scrambles in the UK.

Click here to see a map of the approximate route undertaken

I parked in a lay-by parking area a short distance along the A5 from the start of the track. Roadside parking here is free of charge.

Tryfan from roadside parking:


After walking along the road to the start of the track, I crossed through an area of boulders to reach a ladder stile over a wall.

Looking back towards Llyn Ogwen from area with lots of boulders:


Heading for the ladder stile over the wall:


Once over the ladder stile, I started my ascent of Tryfan. I initially followed the single track making its way up the hill.

Looking back towards the wall below:


Llyn Ogwen:


However, it wasn't long before the single track became a multitude of tracks and I'm not convinced I followed the easiest one.

Looking back during ascent of lower slopes of Tryfan:


I tried to avoid all sections of scree/mud by sticking to rock. Even in the lower slopes of Tryfan there is ample opportunity for scrambling.

Gaining height quickly:


After some scrambling moves that were definitely not Grade 1, I found myself back on track on a ledge with a cairn.

Back on route:


Until now there was little to see above. However on reaching a flat area I was surprised to see how much more ascent and scrambling was still to come. The final section of Tryfan looking particularly "interesting" from a distance.

Much ascent and scrambling still to come:


The cannon is a very obvious feature about half-way up Tryfan. It was even more obvious today as there were a group of lads all getting their photo taken on it. Until now I had only met three other scramblers on the ridge. I could now see at least a dozen more ahead.

The cannon:


Easy section beyond the Cannon:


View East along the A5 towards Capel Curig:


On arriving at the first of three walls the scrambling definitely became harder. The ascent of the first tower and the gap at the other side of it were in my opinion not Grade 1. I went directly up the wall. There is apparently a slightly easier way round to the left.

The first wall (crux of route):


Looking back to the top of the first wall from other side of short gap:


On approaching the second wall, I followed a path to the right which bypassed the high vertical rocks

The second wall (skirted on right):


Llyn Bochlwyd and Llyn Idwel below Y Garn:


Llyn Ogwen:


The path also skirts round to the right of the third short wall.

The third (final) wall:


Looking back towards the top of the second wall:


As I approached the summit I was really surprised to see so many people. I had only seen approximately twenty people scrambling up the North ridge. I assume numerous others must have ascended from the South.

Approaching the summit:


On reaching Adam and Eve, I touched the top of each. There was no way I was going to jump between them to get the Freedom of Tryfan. I think a good blend of courage and stupidity are required to do the jump. If you were to get the landing wrong - big ouch!

Someone jumping from Eve to Adam:


After spending a bit of time at the summit, I descended via the South ridge. For much of the descent I could find no path. It was just a case of scrambling down through thousands of boulders.

Looking back towards South Top of Tryfan during descent:


I had a brief stop again on reaching the wall with the stile. At this point I decided to abandon any plans to also ascend the Glyders as my hip was fairly sore (an on-going problem). I therefore opted to descend towards Llyn Bochlwyd.

Wall with stile during descent of South ridge:


View during descent towards Y Garn and Elidir Fawr:


Glyder Fach:


Looking back to South Top of Tryfan:


The descent path was fairly good as far as the llyn. Beyond the llyn the quality of the path was varied.

Descent to Llyn Bochlwyd:


During the descent I met a woman taking a small child up the hill. The child was crawling on her hands and knees with fear. Not good!

Looking back to Tryfan during descent:


Looking back during descent:


As I approached the bottom of the hill, it was good to see the North ridge in profile.

North ridge of Tryfan in profile:


Final descent back to road:


Stream from bridge:


During the walk back along the road, I only stopped briefly to take a photo of two geese on Llyn Ogwen.

Canada Geese on Llyn Ogwen:


Tryfan is a great hill and the North ridge is outstanding. If however you like to keep your hands in your pockets and don't like big drops this "walk" is possibly not for you.