The summit of Grand Paradiso - this was what we were in Italy for!
When we got up at 3.30 am it was bucketing rain and there was thick mist. Departure was put on hold.
Breadfast at 4.30 am showed the weather had improved.
At 5.00 we decided to go for it. After an hour on the trail the rain finally stopped and we climbed above the cloud to the edge of the glacier.
We encountered steeper than expected slopes; due to being slightly off route! After a few hours hard work, Il Roc appeared and from there the summit was visible.
The final 300 meters were hard won as we approached the 4000m mark but the views compensated as we could see the high alpine summits of France, Italy and Switzerland.
Up to this point there were only 2 other parties on the mountain but groups now appeared from several different directions and we were soon jostling for position on the very narrow summit blockCROWS on Grand Paradiso
Finally at 4061 meters we were at the top of Italy and had fantastic views in every direction. 
We descended to the hut by a different route which included some very scary scree and after some food and drink, collected our gear and descended to the valley.
All in all a hard day but a good one!.
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