Mountain rescuers’ warning over risky photo stunt after walker injured in Snowdonia

Mountain rescuers have issued a warning over a risky photo stunt after a walker was injured in Snowdonia. ‌​‌‌​​​‌‍‌​‌​‌​​​

The message comes after a man suffered head and spinal injuries whilst jumping between a pair of boulders on the summit of Tryfan. ‌​‌‌​​​‌‍‌​‌​‌​​​

The mountain’s summit is well known for the twin rocks which have been affectionately named as Sion a Sián or Adam and Eve in English. ‌​‌‌​​​‌‍‌​‌​‌​​​

A popular ritual sees people attempt to jump from one to the other in order to win the “freedom of Tryfan”. ‌​‌‌​​​‌‍‌​‌​‌​​​

However, the Ogwen Valley Mountain Rescue Team has cautioned people over undertaking the leap of faith just for the sake of getting pictures. ‌​‌‌​​​‌‍‌​‌​‌​​​

It follows an incident last Monday afternoon (August 7th) which resulted in a man being airlifted to hospital. ‌​‌‌​​​‌‍‌​‌​‌​​​

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In a post on Facebook, team members said: “Jumping from Sion a Sián/Adam and Eve on Tryfan’s summit is exhilarating and makes for some great pictures, but it isn’t without risk. ‌​‌‌​​​‌‍‌​‌​‌​​​

“The team were called out on Monday afternoon after a man failed while jumping from Sion a Sián falling some distance to the ground. ‌​‌‌​​​‌‍‌​‌​‌​​​

“With reports of head and spinal injuries, Maritime and Coastguard Agency Rescue 936 were requested and they deployed the winchman to assess the casualty. ‌​‌‌​​​‌‍‌​‌​‌​​​

“The winchman requested additional help to control the growing number of people on the summit and also help in packaging the casualty. Six team members were winched onto the mountain. Once in the stretcher, the casualty was flown to Ysbyty Gwynedd emergency department in Bangor for treatment. ‌​‌‌​​​‌‍‌​‌​‌​​​

“One of the team commented it was lucky our casualty jumped right to left and “only” fell 5 metres. A jump from left to right would result in a fall of several hundred metres. If you are unsure, maybe consider leaning against them instead.” ‌​‌‌​​​‌‍‌​‌​‌​​​

Middle image: “File:Adam and Eve on Tryfan – geograph.org.uk – 57522.jpg” by Nigel Davies is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0. ‌​‌‌​​​‌‍‌​‌​‌​​​