In reply to cb294:
Many thanks CB.
When you say "early season is great", I guess you've had some positive experiences, aside from the hut cancellations one year. I was thinking that glacier conditions should be better early in the season rather than in late July/August taking the effect of global warming into account. My most recent experiences in the Alps were pretty poor because of this, though I had some wonderful trips to the Alps 30 or 40 years ago in August.
Martin