The Ogwen Mountain Rescue Team in North Wales has never been an organisation to shy away from sensationalism when reporting its tales of derring-do but today's BBC Wales news item based on a Ogwen MRT press statement about a family of four rescued on Tryfan's West face borders on the bizarre !
According to the BBC....... 'A family of four from Worcestershire have been airlifted from what is described as a 'no-go' area of a Snowdonia mountain.
The two adults, a teenage girl and boy, and a labrador had to be winched off the 3,000 ft (914m) high Tryfan after becoming trapped on its west side.' With no reports of injuries most people might ask why a family need to be airlifted off a mountain in July when it was a bit drizzly but not exactly in the grip of a howling winter blizzard ?
The report quotes Ogwen MRT spokesman Chris Lloyd as saying.."It's a no go high-risk area - not even goats go there," !!!
In truth goats do go there.And scramblers,climbers and confident walkers. Unlike Tryfan's east face,the west face lacks the soaring rock architecture to be found on the other side of the mountain. It's amenable face is made up of short buttresses,broken ridges and escapable gullies.
That is not to say that you could not be seriously injured or even die on the West Face but then that is true of any mountain in North Wales which offers a craggy visage.
Should those ascending or descending mountains only stick to well worn paths and keep clear of anywhere that N Wales MR teams deem 'no go high risk areas'. How is that term defined and applied and to whom is it addressed ?
The West Face of Tryfan is in fact a great place to explore with some great scrambles and easy climbs. You can descend safely if you are half way competent. The North Face of the Eiger it aint and don't let Nanny tell you otherwise !
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