Had a chance to talk to those guys and visited Chamonix base recently- they have qute a lot of training and a lot of actual practice, so definitelly proficient in what they do. Agree that nose-in brings quite some risk and if winch is available, might look questionable. But there were other factors affecting risk assesment (weather in particular) and they decided on the best course of action under circumstances.
I was also against such practices, as winch is available, am aware of many incidents/accidents occuring during such attempts, but a well trained/proficient crew can do it quite safely.
Do not underestimate exposure time. Crab, am aware of your winching procedures a little (tried it with 202. Squadron - great time!), but we decided to do it differently as hovering near rocks for ages winching in and out 30 metres of cable or more makes seconds extending to near eternity. And there is a time limit for hovering in RFM for some types.
"Spacewalking" might looks dangerous but our rescuers are aware that it does not really matter if you fall 30 or 300 metres, so we also winch in and out away from rocks as much as possible, thus exposing everybody for minimum time necessary - also falling rocks are often an issue to think of. (those triggered by helicopter and those that might hit us from above)