Climbing the Eiger, 2005

The Mittellegehutte is a marvel of Swiss engineering as it sits precariously perched on a knife edge ridge. We discovered that the day (1 Aug) we were climbing the route was Swiss National Day celebrating the founding of the country some 700 plus years earlier. The hut was full of climbers and their guides and we didn't have reservations. Unlike the north side of the Eiger where we were entirely alone we would have to share this route. The hut guardian (a pretty young fraulein) grumbled about us not making reservations down in Grindelwald but managed to find a spot for us to sleep and fed us a spectacular four course dinner. Another Swiss marvel considering that everything comes to the hut by helicopter.