April 4 to 7, 2007 Me, Pilar, Javier, Juan and about seventy others. Altitude: 4061 m Where: Parco Nazionale del Gran Paradiso, Italy So the trip starts with 50cm of fresh pow wow... After digging out a parking spot and getting the gear ready, we decide to cancel the first        day up to Rifugio Chabod due to poor visibility and it being 4pm already! Mmm new snow. Day 2: on the way up to Rifugio Vittorio Emanuele.  Not a        cloud in the sky! Rifugio Vittorio Emanuele (2732m). Day 2, afternoon: 27 degrees Celsius. Avalanche rescue practice.  We all got it down to 4-5 minutes.  Not bad! Day 3: when all the guides in the hut decide not to do the Gran        Paradiso, there's probably a reason for it!  So we decide to        postpone the summit attempt for a day to let the snow settle.        Instead: pow wow yoyo skiing!  Yeehaw. Day 3: Looking SE from the Col di Moncorve (3294m), la Tresenta on the upper left. Sucks to be on snowshoes (cf. the two guys at the top)!!! Day 4: finally the summit attempt!  5:00 am breakfast. We're the first group out in the moonlight. View from the summit col (looking south). Setting up a rope for the final few metres to the exposed true        summit (4061m). Welcome to skiing in the Alps!  Take a ticket please and stand        in line!  Somebody sound the gong!  Anyone brought the        waders?  Excuse me, excuse me, sorry, excuse me, passing        through, make way please...  No, you and your 15 friends can't        use my rope.  Yes, I did in fact make a reservation 3 months        ago.  Hello, hello, hi, hello, how're you, buenos dias, bonjour,        buongiorno, Guten Tag ... Sucks to be on snowshoes, part 2 (cf. the two guys on the left). Back at the Rifugio, 2:30pm. Skiing in the Alps, part 2. Right down to the car, baby!  Without scratching the skis once!