The Boys' Brigade Mountaineering Club

Tryfan is the 15th highest peak in Wales and the lowest of its 3,000 ft peaks. Its North Ridge is an exciting Grade 1 scramble which, with its South Ridge, Bristly Ridge and Y Gribin (The Rake) forms part of the classic Bochlwyd Horseshoe ridge walk around Llyn Bochlwyd (Pale-faced Lake).

It is the only peak in England or Wales that cannot be climbed without the use of hands.

At its summit, are two upstanding monoliths called Adam and Eve (Siôn a Siân in Welsh, which actually translates to John and Jane). Seen from the A5, these rocks are often mistaken for people. They are seperated by a distance that is just a bit more than a step. Jumping between Adam and Eve is a challenge for mountaineers and doing this gains the Freedom of Tryfan.

See its entries on Walkhighlands or Wikipedia or view it from above on Google Earth.

Try could could have two possible interpretations. Try is an intensifying prefix that means Very or it could be a corruption of Tri meaning Three.

Fan (the Welsh word Ban soft-mutated after the number or the adjective) means Top, Point, Summit, Peak, Pinnacle, Height or Mountain. The same word, in its plural and unmutated form, is used for the Brecon Beacons (Bannau Brycheiniog).

Tryfan most likely means Very High Peak. Because of its isolation from the main Glyderau range and it being seen in the foreground from the A5 in the Ogwen Valley, it does appear to be very high, although it only just makes 3,000 ft.  It could also mean Three Peaks, because it does have three summites, as can be seen when viewed from East or West on the A5. Although Fan is singular, so perhaps Triple Peak might be better