Climbing the Eiger, 2005

We negotiated the glacier without incident jumping a few crevasses trusting the path of the fresh footsteps in the snow and periodically checking to see if the guide was following. When we reached a rock wall under the Mittellegehutte the guided party caught up to us as we surveyed our options. Not knowing at the time that this was a guided party, I asked if they had done the route before and the guide said no. As he headed up the rock I found out from the clients that he was a Swiss guide from Grindelwald. The common complaint that Swiss guides are jerks held true. We started up the slabs climbing slighly to the right of the party above us to avoid rock fall. It entailed about five pitches of low fifth class rock with concrete rebar for anchors at every pitch.