Tryfan Free Climb/Scramble

Tryfan is located in the Snowdonia National Park and stands at a height of 915m (3,002ft).

The mountain is very easy to get to. We just parked on the road and the foot of the mountain was just a 5 minute walk away. This mountain is perfect for free climbing. The ridge nearest the road is the route that we took. It was mainly scrambling/free climbing. We advise taking someone with you who knows the area and who has climbing skills.

Preparation:

We went in the winter to Tryfan. The right clothes are extremely important and the basics are good walking boots (Vibram sole), breathable coat, light weight and breathable trousers, walking socks, gloves with grip, hat, jumper and a day pack consisting of:

• Food (high energy food but not sweets. Nuts, energy bars, nut bars, chocolate, fruit, sandwich and water but not too much water because of the weight. We took 1ltr each).
• Head torch
• Water proofs
• Survival kit (available from outdoor activity shops)
• Mobile Phone (in case of emergency)
• Remember to let someone know where you are going and your expected time to return

The climb itself is very simple (foot holds and hand holds everywhere) but it's the altitude that gets the adrenaline pumping and we seemed to be very high very fast.

At about the half way point, we came across a fallen rock that has been wedged in the mountain forming an overhang. Its called 'The Cannon'. Many people have their picture taken stood on top of it but, we warn you, it's not for the faint hearted.

All this time we had been in the shadow of Tryfan and it was very cold but, just above 'The Cannon', there is a ridge and, when we got over it, the warmth of the sun was on our faces and we could see the summit. The photo below show us climbing over this ridge and you can see the shadow of the summit casting over the neighbouring mountain.

Another 40 minutes of climbing and we were on the summit where we found 'Adam & Eve' - two 7ft high rocks, 4ft apart on the edge of the mountain which we where told that everyone who climbs Tryfan has to jump between. Again, not for the faint hearted so don't worry if you don't want to jump them. When on top of 'Adam & Eve,' you are at the highest point on that mountain by yourself and to your left is a drop straight down to the bottom of the mountain.

Adrenaline is flowing round your veins at this point and, with one carefully planned leap, you land on the other rock and climb down feeling great.

We then descended Tryfan the easy way - down the back route which then leads you to the 'Brissly Ridge' which we will be reviewing soon.