In reply to redsonja:
Did it last weekend. Route conditions perfect. Weather conditions dire: wind and thick cloud. Despite the weather, the route was massively crowded: a long procession up the glacier followed by a scrum at the top with several dozen people clambering over one another to get up to the Madonnina and back down... Didn't bother to do the last 30m as there was nothing to see and I couldn't be doing with all the aggro. Not my idea of mountaineering at all. Loads of other stuff to do round about if you want a more authentic mountain experience... Excellent lunch to be had (at a price) at the Rifugio Tetras Lyre
http://www.rifugiotetraslyre.it at the bottom of the path up to Vittorio Emmanuele.