Located in North Wales’s epic Snowdonia region, a land of windswept peaks and frosty valleys eerily reminiscent of landscapes from the frozen north of Game of Thrones, lies Tryfan, a craggy, rocky mountain famed for its incredible selection of routes to the summit. Among these is Tryfan grade 1 scramble, the North Ridge, which is in my opinion anyway, the best grade 1 scramble in the UK.
Is Tryfan dangerous?
Tryfan is a grade 1 scramble on its easiest route; it’s in a relatively remote location and is rocky and steep almost all the way up. It can be dangerous if you’re not aware of the risks and aren’t prepared. But if you plan ahead, take careful steps, don’t rush, and avoid the worst of the weather, you should be fine.
Why not read my guide on staying safe when scrambling if you’re still not sure?
How long does it take to climb Tryfan?
This really depends on a few variables: your fitness, the conditions, and how much experience you have. I climbed Tryfan most recently when it was icy in November, so I had to take a lot more care with each step, especially as I got closer and closer to the summit. It took me 4 hours to complete the full route up the North Ridge, down the South Ridge, and past the lake to re-join the A5.
I think anyone who is confident on the mountain and has reasonable fitness could complete the full loop in 3 hours in ideal conditions.
Where do I park for Tryfan?
While there are no dedicated car parks for Tryfan, it does lie in the Ogwen Valley, which has a plethora of laybys all along the A5. The closer you get to the trailhead, the earlier these spaces fill up. So if you arrive at peak hours (midday), you might struggle to park close, but if you get there for sunrise or sunset, you won’t have any issues.
Can dogs climb Tryfan?
Yes! You can absolutely bring your furry friends to Tryfan. But if they don’t have much experience with climbing mountains, I would take them up the South Ridge rather than the North. I did see dogs heading up the North Ridge while I was climbing, but there are some really tricky sections, like the rock gulley below, where their owners had to pick them up and lift them up onto ledges.
The south face is much more accessible, and while it is still rocky all the way up to the summit, you won’t find sections quite as daunting as anything on the North Ridge.
Tryfan or Crib Goch?
I say Tryfan is the most iconic grade 1 scramble in North Wales a lot, but the truth is Crib Goch probably holds that title, or at the very least it holds the title of most infamous. Both of them are truly challenging in their own right, but there are massive differences between them. To answer this question properly, it’s easier if you understand each of your choices.
Crib Goch
Being possibly the most hair-raising route up to Snowdon, Crib Goch often sees quite a bit more foot traffic than Tryfan. It’s a knife-edge ridge with seriously terrifying drops on either side of you, so if you’re scared of heights or you’re not brilliant with exposure, this probably isn’t for you just yet.
Tryfan
Tryfan is a mountain as a whole, rather than a route to another summit. There are a range of routes up to the summit, from grade 1 all the way up to a grade 3 scramble. But for the sake of simplicity, I’ll stick to the grade 1 scramble for the purpose of this comparison.
Tryfans grade 1 scramble is the North Ridge, which I’ll soon share the full route for. It is, for the most part, fairly straight-forward, with some technical scrambling but very little exposure when compared to Crib Goch.
To answer the question, it really depends on what you’re comfortable with and your level of experience. But if you’re reading this and you have limited experience of scrambling or exposure, start with Tryfan and move onto Grib Goch once you’re comfortable.
How hard is Tryfan?
Tryfan is not a hike at all; it’s a scramble with intermittent patches of hiking. The majority of the time, you’ll be clambering up and onto huge boulders.
It’s a more technical climb than Crib Goch, for example, but with Crib Goch, you have some serious exposure to deal with. Overall, I wouldn’t say Tryfan is for the faint of heart of people who have no experience on the mountain.
You will need a decent degree of fitness and physical strength to summit with confidence, but it is an intensely rewarding experience. For anyone like me who loves scrambling and a touch of techy climbing, this is an utterly incredible route.
Tryfan Adam and Eve
How would you like to earn the fabled freedom of Tryfan? Well, you will have to be brave. Right on the summit are two large rectangular boulders about 10 feet tall; these are affectionately named ‘Adam and Eve’.
To earn the freedom of Tryfan, you need to scramble on top of one and jump to the other. Personally, I haven’t done this because the only time I have ever been to Tryfan, it was icy, and I didn’t fancy a helicopter rescue. But I’ll be returning in the summer to claim my title.
Tryfan grade 1 scramble: The Route
Stage 1
Assuming you parked in the big layby on the A5 right next to the lake, cross the road to the side of the road that Tryfan lies on. Walk about 100 yards towards the closest end of the lake until you see a gate that splits the stone wall into two. Walk through that gate, and you’re already on the trailhead. Simple, right? Well, it gets a lot more complicated further up, so enjoy this moment of simplicity.
Follow the path up; it gets fairly steep in places, but the path is well defined and will roughly follow the base of a large rock face. You’ll skirt around the edge of this rock face as you ascend; there’s very little scrambling at this stage, but the rocks can be fairly slippy if it’s raining (when isn’t it raining in Snowdonia?).
A little bit higher up, the path will rise by stone steps until you reach a small rock gulley.
Stage 2
At the top of the gulley, ignore the path that heads off to the left. This does take you to the summit, but is called the heather terrace and avoids much of the scrambling that we want to test ourselves on.
Take your pick of the routes through the broken rocks above. The easiest and most straight-forward route follows a ribbon of scree and boulders directly through the broken ridge crest above you. You can find more challenging rock formations to your right, but don’t stray too far from the crest.
Unusual rock formations are the order of business in this section. You will soon encounter the ‘Canon Stone’, which is a fantastic place to take a breather and take some epic photos.
Stage 3
All routes converge at a broad, flat shoulder with distinctive, flat rock slabs intersected with streaks of white quartz. Above this, the ridge continues to broaden into a second shoulder, but this time there are much smaller, flat rock slabs.
Above lies a nearly sheer pyramidal buttress of clean rock; this is some of the best and most challenging scrambling on Tryfan. But if you’re not up to the challenge, there are some easier routes to your left.
At the top of the buttress, pass over a small rock tower, climb down to a narrow gulley, and scramble up onto the broken ridge crest again. The next challenge is the large tower of the North Peak. A direct ascent is not an option, but a wide, easy chimney to the right delivers you onto the summit plateau.
The summit of Tryfan is incredibly rocky; you’ll need to take care of where you place your feet, especially if it is icy. You’ll know you’re at the top when you see ‘Adam and Eve’, two large boulders right on the summit.
Stage 4
This is the part we all dread: the descent. Thankfully, it’s an easy route to follow, but it’s not easy on the knees as there’s quite a bit of downward scrambling. It is possible to loop around the rock face and descend down the heather terrace, but I find the circular hike to be much more enjoyable.
Simply descend down the South Ridge towards the Glyders and the mountain lake; it will take you half an hour to an hour until you get to the base of the ridge between Tryfan and the Glyders. Once you’re at the base of this ridge, you will see a path jutting off to your right towards the lake. Follow this route down all the way to the A5, and then all you need to do is find your car and brew up a cuppa.
