By the time we're up (before 7), the others in the hut have already left for their tours. We head down, down, down (passing a couple of groups on their way up) to the bus stop at Handegg again. Grab the next bus up towards Grimsel, get off at Kunzentaennlein, and then head over to the lovely slabs.
We put on the gear, throw our big boots in the packs (packs too full and heavy!) and then climb the route Kruemel (5b, 4b, 3c, 4b, 4c, 3b, 5a, 5a, 3b, G starts). It's been a couple of years since we climbed at Grimsel, and the packs are heavy and awkward, so things are tricky at first, but we get into it by the end.
At the top of the route we change back into the big boots (A runs ahead a bit in her climbing shoes in order to escape the ants), then head down to the hiking path that takes us up, up to Baechlitalhuette. This is, of course, a nice hike up (even though the packs are heavy). The hut is less than half full, but they have organized things to minimize the amount of work they have to do, so the few sleeping rooms in use are completely full. We ask about changing this, but the hut warden says no, so we cancel our second night there. (Other fun "optimize to minimize work" strategies: the tables they assign us to in the dining room are all full, and the bathrooms are half closed). Decent dinner, some cards, then off to bed.
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