The view to the left on this ridge is superb (despite the fact that it's possible to make out the car park from the summit!). On the day we did the route the Barre Noire couloir was in great condition and took only a little over an hour, whilst the ridge in the picture was somewhat soft and took ages. Nonetheless, we made it back down to the valley in time for a beer in the afternoon Sun, which was a definite plus.