My first attempt up the snow made the route feel VERY dangerous. That trip was an overnight with a stay-over at UBSL. I teamed up with some other more experienced climbers who brought a rope. They were so far ahead of me they had taken off up the col so when I arrived I joined the ridge past those perpendicular flakes, rounded the gendarme to the notch, and finally caught sight of them 200' above me. By myself, I was so intimidated by the snow I couldn't fathom how they even tried it simul-climbing.
I returned a couple of years later for a car-to-car in July, and even though I was absolutely feeling every bit of a day-long push I felt super safe for 95% of the ridge when there was no snow. The rock is excellent, very grippy, even in boots. There isn't much loose stuff. I only felt intimidated by the Class 4 crux that I decided wasn't feeling my vibe, and when I traversed low on the north side between the summits there were two down-sloping boulders that created a mild hanging corner I needed to step around. Even though they felt airy, I never felt like I was close to losing my footing.
I really wonder how experienced these folks were. You can be super experienced and sometimes have a bad/unlucky day. For all we know a snow slab broke beneath or a rock came loose.
You make a good point that the term self-arrest implies snow.
