One Minute Mountain: Tryfan

© Geoboy

​Quick intros to Britain's favourite hills. Here's Tryfan, the most fun it's possible to have within a mile of the A5.

Tryfan and the Ogwen Valley from Crimpiau  © Nicholas Livesey
Tryfan and the Ogwen Valley from Crimpiau
© Nicholas Livesey, Mar 2011

Height:​ 917m

Personality:​ Proud and imposing; 100% rugged and yet just a stone's throw from the road; Tryfan is everything that's great about Snowdonia distilled into one giant chiselled chunk. If there's a Welsh mountain that truly deserves the over-used tag iconic, this is it.

What's in a name? Tryfan is Three Peaks in Welsh.​ You'll hear it mispronounced various horrible ways from triffin to try-fan. To get nearer the mark try truh-van

The experts say: "This superb rock peak is off-limits to anyone not prepared to use their hands as well as their feet to reach its summit" Carl Rogers, author of the Mara guidebooks to Snowdonia

"The best thing about Tryfan is the Downhill Dash - the annual down hill race from the summit to the road. The record holder broke both his wrists on the record run... say no more!" Jack Geldard, UKC Editor and one-time Llanberis resident ​

Best feature: Tough call. From some angles Tryfan is a giant shark's tooth; from others the gnarled turrets of an ancient Welsh fortress. It doesn't have a dull side. We love rock, so let's go with the east face, a chaos of gully-etched crags topped with a stepped skyline that has to be among the most recognisable mountain silhouettes in Britain.

The Canon, Tryfan, North Ridge  © CrushUnit
The Canon, Tryfan, North Ridge
© CrushUnit, Mar 2014

Greatest route? The big classic climbs and scrambles of the east face; the exploratory rock rambles over on the west side; the gently enjoyable south ridge - there's not a dud among them. But if we had to pick just one route - and thank God we don't really - then the North Ridge would take top spot. The best grade 1 in Wales bar none, this superb scramble leads from near the road right up to the summit. With a labyrinth of possible lines no two ascents are likely to be exactly the same, and since this means you can tweak the difficulty to suit your ability this really is a route for scramblers of all stripes. The one downside of this accessibility is its appeal to those who might be better off not scrambling at all; Tryfan's North Ridge certainly keeps the mountain rescue team busy. For a longer hands-on day make it the opener on the classic Cwm Bochlwyd horseshoe.

Who does it? ​Being such an obvious target, and so easy to access, Tryfan inevitably acts as a major crowd magnet. You'll meet all sorts here, from over-equipped climbers to under-dressed day-tripping families. Luckily there's plenty of mountain to go around.

Would you Adam and Eve it?     Tryfan Summit  © Dan Arkle & Jaime Gray
Would you Adam and Eve it? Tryfan Summit
© Dan Arkle & Jaime Gray, Aug 2012

Take a leap of faith... or not: ​Monolithic twin blocks crown the summit, Adam and Eve (which is which? Who cares?). Tradition is to risk a big stride from one to the other, but this may not be everyone's cup of tea. The gap between the two is over a metre, after all, while the fall of man would be way more than that if you mucked it up.

Pub quiz trivia: From the 1980s until recently the summit height was officially 915m, but a re-survey in 2010 using modern technology added 2.4 metres to the mountain.

Where to stay? ​Within stumbling distance there's YHA Idwal plus campsite/bunkhouse accommodation at Gwern Gof Uchaf and Gwern Gof Isaf.

Local boozer: The Bryn Tyrch Inn and the Tyn-y-Coed Inn at Capel Curig are both popular walkers' pit stops.

Soaking up the views atop Tryfan  © Geoboy
Soaking up the views atop Tryfan
© Geoboy, Nov 2013





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