Here is a great photo from Julian a couple of weeks ago when we had several teams climbing on the North Face of Gran Paradiso. The conditions were perfect at the time, but the weather has been too hot for the last few weeks. The north face is an absolute classic, and is made from the Chabod refuge, set in the national park. The summit is the highest point completely in Italy, and the descent is usually made via the normal route past the Victor Emmanuel refuge to reach the valley in Pont. To see all the photos of the climb, click on this link; http://picasaweb.google.com/IcicleUK/NorthFaceOfGranParadiso