with the help of snowshoes it is possible to reach the Portiola Pass from Barmasc (Val d'Ayas) in winter also for hikers, with snow (if not too deep, i.e. until trail signs are visible), and then to the summit (being the trail from the pass to the summit easier than the access to the pass itself)
pay attention to the last 30 meters up to the pass (a headstone remembers there that mountains barely forgive errors!)
We did it on December 17th, 2005, and we had to renounce during the final ridge only due to the high speed wind, in order to recover below the pass