In reply to MG:
Well it was only me thumbing a lift, so he didn't have much chance.
It was amazing how much he managed to say in voluble, but not terribly accurate French, in 10, 15 mins tops. We had climbed the mountain the wrong way, descended the wrong way (the mountain itself seemed to be acceptable!), 2 weeks ago he had given a lift to 2 Austrians who had just climbed a very hard route on the Grandes Jorasses .... etc, etc, etc.
But he did give me a lift direct to the carpark, in fact almost to the car, when the very last thing I felt like doing was walking from Courmayeur for 7 kms, so it was no time to look a gift horse in the mouth - "Si signor, gracie, gracie!".