We had planned to leave Ailfroide and head over to Courmayeur (to climb the North Face of Tour Ronde) and then on to Cervinia (to climb the Italian – Lion – ridge of the Matterhorn). However, these were thwarted by (yes, you guessed it) the wet weather. First, when we woke in Courmayeur it was pelting with rain (later, we discovered that the ice on the North Face of the Tour Ronde was incomplete anyway). Second, when we got to Cervinia we learnt that the Lion ridge was not recommended. This was despite it having just been reopened again following a closure during the hot weather in July that saw large areas of rock destabilise as the, until then, permanent ice melted in the heat. This time it was closed as the heavy rain, that seemed to be following us, had left up to half a metre of snow on the ridge. The Lion route is supposed to be a rock climb, not good under snow.