Tryfan bivvy – May 2016 – Slava Kuznetsov Adventures

Glyder Fach and Bristly Ridge from Tryfan South Summit

When it comes to British mountains, Tryfan is perhaps one of the most well known and most recognisable. It bears resemblance to an enormous sleeping dragon, with a dramatic and jagged spine soaring 917 meters into the sky. The vertical crags, ridges, chimneys and sharp flakes make this mountain one of the most unique and beautiful in Britain.

Luckily last weekend the circumstances played out such that Dan, a good friend of mine, had finished work and had some free time on his hands, and more beneficially for me, it was also a bank holiday weekend. To top it all off, the weather was looking up, which is rare thing for Wales! So in the true spirit of microadventure, we decided that we would climb Tryfan and spend a night bivvying in our sleeping bags somewhere near the summit. Where exactly? We did not know, but that was part of the fun.
So early on Saturday morning we left the rolling pastures of the home counties and set off on our adventure.

Four hours later we were in Betws y Coed. A picturesque tourist town in the heart of Snowdonia full of outdoor retail stores; Wales’ own Chamonix. Having stocked up on rations, a further 10 minute drive took us past the village of Capel Curig and to the base of Tryfan.

Suffice to say Tryfan requires a good head for heights and is not for those of a nervous disposition. All routes require the use of hands and are considered a minimum of Grade 1 scramble, however, you can push this difficulty as high as you want. The brilliant thing about Tryfan is that you will never take the same route twice.
The most popular route is the North Ridge which ascends directly up from lake Ogwen. This is the one that Dan and I were going to take.

Having survived a night of savage midge attacks at the campsite, we arose bright and early to a glorious Sunday morning and began our climb.

The path starts off as a well defined “staircase” but very soon this becomes less pronounced and the lines open up. This is where the real fun scrambling begins, and while there is still a visible trail, there are multiple ways to traverse each section, and every person seems to take a slightly different approach.

After about 3 hours of scrambling, we reached a terrace about 100 meters below the summit. The final part of the climb is the most daunting by quite a significant margin, and it was amusing to see groups of hikers standing there in bewilderment, wondering what on earth they had got themselves into when faced with the sheer craggy wall in front of them.

Upon reaching the summit one is greeted by two large stone pillars, Adam and Eve. Jumping between the two supposedly grants you the “Freedom of Tryfan”.
As I quickly found out myself, no picture really conveys the exposure that you feel standing on top.

The sheer void around your feet is made even more unnerving by how polished the stones are. As I carefully pulled myself up to stand on it, I felt my boots slide around on the smooth, almost greasy-like rock. I didn’t fancy myself cartwheeling hundreds of meters down the side of the cliff, so I chickened out and decided to not jump across.

We descended towards the South Summit. There we found an area with some great ledges. Perfect for bivvying, and with just the right balance of cosiness and exposure.

As the crowds of hikers slowly subsided, the silence and sheer beauty of this wild place truly started to emerge.
We were the only ones left on the mountain, and the silence on that calm evening is hard to describe. It is something that you just don’t get in cities or even the countryside.
We could occasionally hear campers talking by the lake in the picture above.

The only hassle we got was from the local mountain goats, who clearly didn’t appreciate us encroaching on their turf, and spent the evening eyeing us up.

We were rewarded with an amazing sunset, and an equally incredible sunrise.

We had to wake up at 4:40am to catch the sunrise. Was it worth it? I think the pictures speak for themselves.

The next morning we made our way back down via Cwm Bochlwyd. Overall a great weekend!

What amazes me is how accessible these wonderful places are, even for Londoners. A four hour car journey is all it takes. You don’t even have to take any days off work. I encourage anyone and everyone to head out into the mountains and have their own adventure!

Tips

Consider your pack size – I would avoid taking anything over 50 Litres as the scrambling requires you to climb through some rather tight gaps. A large pack may end up being cumbersome and may restrict your movement.
I used the Osprey Mutant 38, which was perfect for storing my sleeping bag, mat, stove, water and snacks.
Navigation – If you ever feel unsure about what route to take, there are several things you can look out for:
– Discoloration of the rocks. A well travelled route will often have slightly browner rocks from the mud from hikers boots.
– Polished rocks. A well travelled route will have rocks that have been smoothed down by boots and hands over the years and will develop an almost greasy feel.
– Crampon/walking pole scratch marks. Easy to spot, however, be somewhat cautious as they may lead you to more technical climbing terrain.
Footwear – make sure you are wearing rigid hiking boots, ideally with ankle support.
Take water! It is very important to stay hydrated, even on cooler days.
Be safe and have fun!