From this side, it looks safe enough, but on our way to the summit we had seen that there was a massive vertical drop off on the other side. Sure, there was no overhanging cornice that we might fall through, but we were concerned that if we would actually stand on the summit, the pack of snow might simply slide off because of our weight! And so, we elected to lie flat on the western slopes and just touch it.
The summit of Mont Blanc de Courmayeur, as we saw it earlier in the day. From this point, it actually looks like there is an overhanging cornice on the top, but if you zoom in, you can see that it's "only" vertical. We ended up climbing the last meters from the right hand side, not along the ridge itself.
11 July 2013.