Glannachopf, Chli & Gross Fulfirst

When the Föhn is doing its thing, it's always a good idea to head to the Ostschweiz. On this occasion, I made my first exploration of the Alvierkette.

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After parking the car at the Berghaus Malbun (6 CHF, and four of those you can get back when you consume something at the restaurant), the ascend starts along a small ski lift. The path soon gets more interesting, making for a pleasant ascent to the Bi den Seen and the Sisitzgrat. Most people here are headed to the Margelchopf. On the other hand, I turn left, and follow the now pathless ridge towards the Glannachopf. The ridge is generally unproblematic. There are a few outcrops in the middle that can be easily passed on either side. I try to scramble over the outcrops as well, but this proved to be a little too sketchy.

Upon reaching the summit escarpment of the interestingly shaped Glannachopf, I had originally intended to follow Ossi's route over some exposed scree-bands in the west face. However, spotting a weakness in the northern escarpment some 30m east of the ridge, I decide that this looks like a better option. The short scramble is generally pleasant but challenging (T5+, II) and you have to watch out for a couple of loose stones. If in doubt, the east slopes offer a significantly easier access to the Glannachopf.

There seems to be a fairly direct route through the Glannachopf south-east face to the saddle between Glannachopf and Chli Fulfirst, but the right way is difficult to spot from above and I end up taking a slightly longer way around. From the saddle, the Chli Fulfirst can be climbed directly along the grassy ridge. Just before the summit the ridge gets a little sharper and more rocky (T4+).

From the Chli Fulfirst to the Gross Fulfirst, I again stay directly on the ridge. There's a spectacular drop down towards the Seeztal, but the grass/Schrofen terrain is rather unproblematic (T4).
I descend along the north-east ridge towards Glanna. After a short rocky section directly below the summit (T4+, technically easy, but exposed on both sides), the remainder of the ridge is much more gentle. This seems to be the more popular route onto the Gross Fulfirst. 

I walk back to the Berghaus Malbun via Altsäss, as a (less interesting) alternative to the path via Bi den Seen.