Tryfan

There is no walking route up Tryfan. Every way to the top involves using your hands, and the mountain has a long record of catching people out who did not expect that.

Distance: 3.7 mi / 6 km
Time: 4 hr 30
Ascent: 600 m
Difficulty: Strenuous
Shape: There and back

Where it is

The circle shows the general area, not the exact start. Use the directions link below to get to the car park itself. Contours and paths shown are OpenTopoMap, drawn from OpenStreetMap data.

The route

The usual approach is Heather Terrace, a rising ledge on the east face reached from the A5, leading to the col and then a scramble to the summit. The North Ridge is a longer and more sustained scramble from the same road. Both are graded scrambles rather than walks.

Worth knowing

This is a scramble, not a walk. If you are not comfortable using your hands on steep rock, choose a different mountain.
Adam and Eve are the two stone monoliths on the summit. Stepping between them is traditional and is a genuine fall risk.
In poor visibility the descent is where people get into trouble. It is easy to start down the wrong line.

What you’ll see

An extraordinarily shapely mountain, the Ogwen valley below, and the Glyderau across the cwm.

Background

Tryfan is one of the few peaks in Wales that cannot be reached on foot without scrambling. It has been used for mountain training since the earliest days of British climbing.