“In the summertime, when the weather is high
You can stretch right up and touch the sky”

Mungo Jerry ‘Summertime’

I’m writing this one up in winter I guess probably because this year has sucked hard and I miss summer when everything made a lot more sense. That and I’ve moved since starting writing this blog and I actually have an internet connection finally! At the moment it’s freezing outside and it’s been raining most of the week almost every week, which is typical North Wales for you.

I have to admit I kind of picked this route because it was a fairly low grade and I knew it would suit everybody abilities, and because I’m strange and the name sounds like a funk tune. As well as this I and my work colleagues have been discussing getting out in the mountains for a while, as the weather has been excellent. We decide on Tryfan as we are all into our scrambling and as an added bonus we know we won’t bump into the usual tourists on Tryfan that you get on Snowdon. And that also means it’s less likely we will end up being unwilling guides for people who come out totally unprepared, of which there are many. Come to think of it we ended up guiding two people who had no idea where they were last time we were here.

From my point of view Getting the staff out doing something a bit daring seemed like a win win, I get to cover more of my QMD’s for my mountain leader logs so I can go onto assessment, they get a free guide, and at the same time I can find out just how much they trust me! It’s good we have a team who are all pretty sound and into similar things, most of the staff is comprised of mainly of outdoor sports enthusiasm so taking them out for an adventure seems like a great shout. For the most part that’s why most of us moved here in the first place, to be in the mountains however for most people who are into outdoor adventures, living out here will only ever be a dream as it is expensive if you wanted to buy a place. A bonus for me is that the accommodation I’m currently living is dead in the middle of the mountains in the next valley to Snowdon and there’s no way I’d be able to live there without working for the YHA!

The day we head out the weathers really good, so I know we are going to have a good if sweaty day. Parking up in the lay-by near Tryfan Bach where we start to double check our gear. I’m carrying the rope just in case any of these guys have a freak out on the rock face or freeze up, which I may soon regret the extra weight of. We soon head off and past the bottom of Tryfan bach, for once empty of climbers. I have to admit I’m trying t put a pace on as I’m very aware all these guys are way younger than I am but realistically I think the only reason I’m not getting left behind is because I’m doing the route nav. I’m still not at peak fitness after being ill but i’m sure it’ll come at some point. It’s a good job I am navigating as when the lads see a large boulder and start discussing pebble wrestling (that’s bouldering by the way) also known as ‘rock fondling’ and end up on the wrong side of the boundary we need to be following up. 

Eventually we end up at the bit of Tryfan that’s always confused me, a random stone stairway leading up to the beginning of heather terrace. I have no idea why this is here and there’s nothing like it anywhere else on Tryfan as far as I’m aware, why build a set of steps here and nowhere else? Did they get bored or something, also why so far up the mountain?

We pass Bastow Gully and then before long we arrive at Nor Nor Groove and start heading upwards, the grey walls of the gully loom over us watching and it’s an excellent day for it, very hot and sunny. This route is listed as a grade 1+ so its not too challenging but it should still be exciting for us all. The walls of the gully cloak us in a nice cooling shade for parts of the way while we ascend.

The next section is even better, there’s chaps going up the small ridge opposite us with full gear on roped together and I have to say their route looks even more fun, though as much as I like them I’m not sure I trust the staff with the ropes yet. Now that’s a way to see if you work colleagues really like you, put your life in their hands. Let’s not do that quite yet though, they definitely need some practice.

Everyone doing really well and I’m actually surprised nobody has had any sketchy moments. And the moment i think this is exactly when I hear panicked voices and look down to see rob is having a freak out on something that’s way easier than the rest of the stuff he’s climbed. The other guys try and coax him off the small platform he is on I wonder if maybe he just sees it different or maybe he’s just totally overthinking it as being realistic here, if he fell off he’d probably hurt his ego more than himself physically. 

Rob recovers his nerve and and before long we end up heading round into an area of Tryfan that I’ve never seen before, a side of the mountain that seems insanely steep, intersected by a narrow trail. This is the ‘eastern traverse path’ and the whole picture is pretty breathtaking it’ s like exploring a lost world. The tiny trail is only visually enhanced further by the huge watching teeth of rock that jut out of the side of the mountain , and the guys who have forged ahead are dwarfed by this massive looking landscape high above the valley floor.

We head up the narrow rock gully at the top of which a fallen rock lies across the top, like a natural attempt at an iron age tomb. I take a moment to stop and look back at how the rock walls frame the view down into the valley and the vast shadow of Tryfan casts down on the ground below. 

Eventually we head up to the North summit of Tryfan, the sky is pale blue with few clouds, there’s a gentle warm breeze and the lakes shimmer below us in the sunlight. At this point I break out a bottle of red wine for us all to share but it turns out none of us but one person remembered to bring cups, so the rest of us just sit around swigging it out of the bottle like a bunch of alcoholics. For some reason the guys decide its a perfect time to attempt the Adam and Eve jump , something I’ve never understood.The reason why I don’t understand is if you have just managed to come up a sketchy route and without incident why exactly would you then risk jumping across these stones,? I know it’s ‘tradition’ but in my minds eye all I’m expecting to see is snapped ankles and smashed out teeth. Never a good look bringing your staff back to work in a carrier bag either, it’s something I try and avoid.

Luckily for the most part they do make it down off the stones safely, apart from one of them who almost comes a cropper just climbing off the stones. I go and take a seat on a slab of rock and I get to relax. There’s really there’s nowhere else I’d rather be right now. Days like this are why I took the plunge and moved out here, it was definitely worth the pain.