A mountain in England and Wales is generally accepted as being higher than 2000 feet. The argument then comes as to what degree of drop there has to be between it and the next hill for it to be called a mountain. John and Ann Nuttall came up with a list of hills that are over 2000 feet and have a 50 foot drop between them. This list has now generally become accepted amongst hill walkers as the England and Wales mountains otherwise known as the Nuttalls. The list currently stands at 443 peaks, 253 of which are in England and 190 of which are in Wales.
I’ve made steady progress towards this target since 2004 and have currently climbed over 80% of the target. Of the 190 Welsh mountains I had until today climbed all bar Tryfan, one of the classic Welsh mountains just south of the A5 and in the Glyders range.
It had originally been my intention to only count ascents from 2004 towards my target. As time progressed I realised that my lack of head for heights may hamper me in ascending Crib Goch in the Snowdonia range. I therefore somewhat bent my own rule and decided to count a previous ascent of mine of Crib Goch back in June 1989 towards my total. Isn’t it strange how one’s sense of self-preservation gets greater the older one gets! I had done that walk with friends and fortunately one of then came up with a photo of me summiting Crib Goch. I always like to have a photo of some sort of the summit.
Tryfan therefore was going to me my last Welsh mountain and if I made it I may become the first person to have both walked around the coast of Wales AND climbed all the mountains in Wales. The 190 Welsh mountains have been climbed by quite a few people many of which record their ascents on the fine www.hill-bagging.co.uk website. Walking the coast has not been achieved by as many people but has been done on a number of occasions. I completed my coastal walk over a 20 year period, in stages, and not usually carrying a backpack. Some brave soles have completed the coast in one go and their walk included the Scottish coast too. I have great admiration for people like John Merill and Dave Cotton and others who have done this walk. Dave has put together a list of coastal path walkers on his website at http://www.britishwalks.org/walks/Named/CoastWalk/Links.php
Tryfan is not only a 2000 feet mountain but is actually just over 3000 feet, the lowest of the Welsh 3000ft peaks. It is steep and rocky. I know that there are some tough routes up Tryfan that require rock climbing or good scrambling skills. I’d also read that even the easiest route up, the South Ridge, can present some challenges in terms of route finding and exposure to heights, though the reports were pretty mixed. My plan therefore was to see if I could encourage anyone else to join me, not only to help celebrate this achievement but from a more selfish point of view, to give me confidence in terms of finding the route and helping me over any bits that bordered my capabilities.
A distant view of Tryfan
Friend Andy kindly answered my plea at short notice and was at my house in Coventry by 7.30 ready for the 3 hr drive to North Wales. The roads were fairly crowded and we grab a parking spot in a lay-by about half a mile from our starting point. I had also posted on the Relative Hills of Britain forum site http://groups.yahoo.com/group/rhb/ saying when and where I planned to start the walk from but hadn’t heard back from anyone. It turned out that a number of people had responded but their e-mails were redirected to my Junk mail folder for some reason. It was therefore a great surprise and pleasure that when Andy and I made it to the start point there were three people waiting for us, Myrddyn Phillips, his friend Ed and Alex.
I had met Myrddyn once before about four years ago when Rob Woodall completed his round of Welsh trig points. I recognised his tied back flowing locks. It was an honour for me that Myrddyn should turn up. He is well known in hill bagging circles, in particular in Wales, for having completed a round of the Welsh Nutalls in every month of the year, in fact sixteen rounds in all. He is also part of a team that surveys hills and the relative drops between them and therefore to be praised (or is it blamed?) for having new hills added or deleted from the various lists. Myrddyn is also known for making YouTube videos of various hill baggers and alike and he reveals he has bought his equipment along today. I should have gone to make-up before I arrived.
We set off along the well laid and gentle path that sets off from Idwel Cottage youth hostel. The weather is fine, warm and overcast. It had been a hot week with lots of sunshine up till now and perhaps it’s for the best that there was some cloud today to provide some protection. Pleasant company and gentle walking make the time pass quickly and before I know it we are passing Llyn Bochlwyd, the lake shaped like Australia, half way up to Bwlch Tryfan, and getting good views back down to the A5 and Llyn Ogwen.
The laid track turns more into a path from here on but again the going is fairly easy. It is the same route that I took a few years ago when I climbed the Glyders. The weather was a lot worse that day with high winds and poor visibility. I made the error of turning right off the path too soon and instead of ending up of the scree slope ascent of Glyder Fach found myself on a path that was quickly becoming more and more steep. I backtracked and eventually found the right path.
Bwlch Tryfan is the col between Tryfan and Glyder Fach. It’s from here that routes set off in different directions and the going gets tougher. We rest and regain our breath and Myrddyn asks me to do a bit to camera.
Myrddyn, Alex, Ed and Andy ay Bwlch Tryfan with Glyder Fach behind
The others lead the way. From here on in there is no talking and our minds are focused on the task in hand which is a mixture of rock-hopping and scrambling our way to the top. Occasionally, we have to stop to let people descending Tryfan go past. From below, the path is relatively easy to pick out but I’m still glad of the others taking the lead as a wrong turn on this type of terrain can lead you into trouble. We come up a steep section near the south peak before the path narrows just before the final climb to the top. This is probably the bit where some refer to there being some exposure but its much tamer than I expected and before I know it we are at the top.
The summit itself is marked by two large rectangular rocks called Adam and Eve. The freedom of Tryfan is said to be granted to those who leap between the two rocks. A sheer drop awaits those who misjudge their jump. I am happy to edge my way towards Adam and position myself with my head above the highest point. We all make our own rules as far as summiting is concerned and that’s mine! The others are kind enough to congratulate me on my achievement. Myrddyn takes a bit more video and we sit down to relax. Before I know it Andy is behind me leaping Adam to Eve. Well done that brave man.
We move a bit away from the actual summit and have some lunch. Alex strangely unpacks a cycle helmet. It’s only now do I learn that his trip here involved a train ride and a cycle ride and he will continue after he leaves us over the Glyders and maybe other peaks. Thanks for making that special effort to be here Alex, that’s some journey!
There is a rocky plateau on top of Tryfan about the size of two tennis courts. When we first got there is was relatively quiet considering it’s a popular mountain and was a fine August day. Soon however, as if from nowhere the crowds seem to arrive, people of all ages plus a dog or two. We enjoyed a good break and opportunity to get to know each other. Ed it turns out has a liking for visiting European cities of culture. Who knows, we may even meet up for a pint of Guinness somewhere one day.
What a great team to go up with!
There were deadlines to be met so we packed up and started to head down. The path was harder to pick out going this direction but as the peak was so bust, it was mainly a case of following others. The rock was nice and grippy so it wasn’t too difficult a descent, just required a bit of concentration. Back in the bwlch we said goodbye to Alex as he headed up to Glyder Fawr. I know he made it home safely as I read later on the trigpointing website that he’d found the bolt on Glyder Fach that I’d failed to find when I was up there. Good on him.
Andy and I decided against following him up Glyder Fach. Time was pressing on so we joined Myrddyn and Ed on the path back down to Idwel Cottage and amused ourselves with debates on hill classifications. Andy pointed out that he thought the hill with the largest relative drop was probably in the Atlantic Ocean. Now there’s a list that would challenge even Rob Woodall – the sub aqua relative hills.
Tryfan South Ridge - our way up, and down.
We were soon back at the start of the walk and I could now count the challenge as truly complete. Ed and Myrddyn had managed to park pretty close to and were kind enough to give Andy and I a lift back to our car to save us walking to 15 minutes along the main road.
Tryfan was a great mountain to end on – rightly looked upon as one of the classic Welsh mountains. A truly memorable day made by those who came along to join me. Thanks guys.
I’m proud of being Welsh and to think that I may be the first person to have both walked around the coastline and climbed all the mountains of this great country gives me a satisfying feeling inside.
A full collection of my England and Wales mountain photos can be found Flickr Nuttall Album
