In reply to Gripped:
I climbed it a long time ago so clearly the glacier crossing will be different. All the rest should be the same.
We bivvied just below the col de l'Inomminata (Monzino side) and I guess must have abseiled/scrambled down to the glacier. We crossed slightly rising then straight up to the start of the Schneider ledges which is basically an earthy ramp line. We left boots crampons and axes where the route starts and climbed in rock boots and with a small sac between us. There's a photo on my gallery of the leftward traverse after ther crux corner but I don't know how to link it on my phone, but I think it's linked to the route. Overall I thought the climbing was much harder - particularly in the lower part - than I'd expected.
The descent down the voie normale in rock boots was a bit of a nightmare as there was a fair amount of snow and I insisted we abseiled quite a bit - my partner was happy scrambling down. This took quite a time so by the time we'd found the top of the Schneider ledges and then our gear that we'd left, it was dark. The moral is take at least boots with you. I agree with tjoliver, abseiling the route is a non starter.
Recrossing the glacier in the dark was another nightmare - no tracks to follow as we hadn't left any in the morning. Then we couldn't identify the right couloir and were about to give up and bivvy... when the moon came out and saved the day.
John Wilkinson (jcw) has a tale of woe regarding the glacier crossing. Hopefully he'll notice the thread.