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Tryfan Skylight

by Mike McNamee

Ogwen Valley Mountain Rescue Team are well known to us in the Moel Siabod cafe, who host our photographic gallery 'Soul of Snowdonia'. We raise funds for the team on a regular basis with talks, quiz nights and donating prints. A few months ago I had a text asking if I could meet one of the team, Jim Langley, for coffee at The Caban in Bryn Refail. The coming year was the 50th anniversary of the organisation and they were going to celebrate it with multiple events. Jim told me he had a vision to place people with head torches on the ridge of one of Britain's most recognisable mountains 'Tryfan'; he asked me if I thought it was feasible and would I organise the photography. Having decided that it would make a great event, it was up to us to make it happen.

We worked out some possible dates via an app called TPE (The Photographer's Ephemeris) based on the lengthening evenings following British Summer Time and where the sun was setting behind the mountain. We wanted some ambient light to the right in the night sky, not directly over the ridge. Now anyone who knows the Welsh weather will know how fickle it can be. We decided on Friday 17 April with a reserve date a week later. Jim had been inspired to do this after watching a 'YouTube' video of a similar project on the Matterhorn.

It was decided to keep the project pretty low key as so much could go wrong. First Jim contacted all current and past team members and the support group 333 ( they are responsible for raising funds). He had hoped to get 50 but the response was overwhelming and the figure quickly reached over 100. This included a team from the RAF Search and Rescue based at RAF Valley in Anglesey who wanted to be part of it. The next step was to break this number down into teams, each with a leader chosen from the current team leaders in the organisation. There were nine teams in all. Each of these was given a place on the ridge and was to be equipped with a radio. A project sheet was plotted with key placements and the times that they would need to leave base to be in position. It would still be cold after dark and they needed to spend as little time as possible standing/sitting in one position.

As the date got closer we decided to have a dummy run. Two weeks before, two people went onto the ridge and we went to one of the designated places that we had decided to shoot from. Our first problem was that although they thought they were on the ridge they were not. They were at least five metres below. Another unforeseen problem was that Warner Brothers were making a movie in the valley and large areas were closed off. King Arthur and his 150 knights (accompanied by about 2,000 clipboard carriers? Ed.) were assembled. We went to see them in a mountain rescue vehicle and this seemed to exempt us from any closures! It had been a very worthwhile exercise and Jim worked out a strategy that would ensure that people were actually on the ridge itself. The other point that came out of it was that each team would carry a powerful rescue torch so that all light sources would not be the same size.

As the event was nearly upon us, food was organised and a team were charged with cooking a stew for over 100. It was decided that a final decision would be made on the Wednesday prior to the event, based on weather forecasts for the area. The original date was a goer and texts were sent out to all participants to arrive at 'Oggie Base' at 5:30pm for a briefing at six before the teams were despatched onto the mountain at their allotted time interval.

When we arrived it was overcast and cold with a promise of clearing skies around dusk. There was an intense excitement around as people began to arrive. Everyone was keen to make Jim's vision happen and to be involved in something that would be very special. At the briefing, Jim was quite emotional as it had taken months of organising and now it was about to happen.

Petzl, the well-known head-torch company, provided torches for anyone who wanted a more powerful one. The first groups began to leave and the skies began to clear; they averaged 45 mintues to climb into position. We made our way to our selected shooting point, nervous but excited. The plan was to shoot in three phases at 8:30pm, 8:45pm and 9:00pm. All participants were asked to stand (at 10-15 metre intervals) pointing their head torches to a Land Rover's headlights after the first flare went off and to make sure they could see clear sky behind them.

Reports began to filter in that they were experiencing a fantastic sunset to the west and all were in good spirits. Then, problems; as Jim set the flare off and all the lights lit up the mountain, the smoke from the flare engulfed us, ruining our shots. Radio contact was made to the team leaders asking people to continue to point their head torches at us and we were blown away by the sight in front of us. A frenzy of activity then took place as we captured what would be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. As promised the rescue helicopter then came into view and hovered just above 'Adam and Eve', the prominent feature of two upright plinths that mark the top of the mountain. Groups radioed in that although cold they were happy enough to give us another 10 minutes before beginning their decent. Reports came in that the light show could be seen for miles around and people were stopping their cars on the A5 and getting out to take pictures.

Listening into the radio reports, we could tell that people were enjoying it. Banter was back and forth and they were saying how they were talking to other groups across gullies and outcrops.

As we returned to base teams started to filter in . It was dark now and you could see streams of head torches making their way down the mountain. It was now a case of getting everyone down safely and team after team came in with huge smiles on their faces. They knew that they had participated in something very special. All the teams were back within two hours. The party went on well into the night, but we wanted to get home to see if we had played our part and produced images worthy of the event.

Next day news spread like wildfire around the outdoor community and social media was buzzing with stories about 'Tryfan Skylight'.

It was without doubt a huge success and stories will be told and retold over the years and people will say 'I was there'. I was privileged to be asked to be part of it and it is an evening I will never forget. Maybe one day it will be me who says 'I was there'.

Prints and cards will be available in the gallery with all proceeds going to the 'Ogwen Valley Mountain Rescue Team' to support the valuable work that they do. It costs £60,000 a year to fund the team, so every penny counts.

The Shot
The main shot consists of two images shot at 1/8s f8 on a Canon EOS 6D using an EF 70-300 f4.5/5.6 lens at 200 ISO and 80mm focal length. Photoshop would not stitch the pair and they were assembled manually, masked and merged to give a 7,750 x 3,500 pixel image. The shooting distance was approximately a mile; the shot was marked at 8:55pm in the metadata.

John and Marion's Soul of Snowdonia gallery is hosted at the Moel Siabod cafe in Capel Curig.



Updated 27/04/2026 16:44:22 Last Modified: Monday, 27 April 2026