UKC

Three people in total.

Two are competent(ish) climbers who can take the grade 2 line up the dorsal fin no worries.

While the third is a munro bagger on a day out with his brothers- not a climber at all. But he did get up 3 easy gullies a few years back so knows a little of the feel of steep winter ground. He only has C1 crampons though.

And we only have a 40m dry treated rope for it.

Could all 3 be roped together but 2 take the dorsal fin while the munro bagger takes the bypass on the left to rejoin after the fin/crux sections?

No.

Agreed.

I was hoping a guide might chip in to advise of a trick specific to that route to make it all possible.

Bit of a long shot.

If the fin section can be lead in a pitch of <20m (more like 18m by the time everyone has tied in) then you might be able to do it by doubling the rope, leading the fin on one strand and leaving the other hanging. Maybe someone else would be able to tell you if it can be done in that length. I seem to remember a steep section above the fin too that your brother might struggle with but it's been a long time so happy to be corrected if that's wrong.

Thanks Dave. It was a long shot.

Plan B is Schoolhouse Ridge which was ascended 2 days ago with the comment it was in summer nick so probably not

And plan C is the left ridge of Ben Lui (from the Tyndrum side) which I drove past the other day and it looked in full on condition so probably the best option for our group.

It's been dumping down in the area today, mates roof avalanched not far from there. When are you going?

That might well have changed by now.

Be careful with that if it's blootered, even though it's a ridge of sorts getting to it and off it could mean crossing avalanche prone slopes.

Dorsal Arete was my first ever Scottish route close to 30 years ago. Roped ascent as a 3 in hiking boots with strap-on crampons. No problems. 

Otherwise the 2 competent(ish) climbers climb Dorsal Arete while the third munro bagger ascend  Broad Gully to the left since he did get up 3 easy gullies a few years back so knows a little of the feel of steep winter ground. You are all probably going to descend that way after the summit.

This Thursday 😁👍 Hope your mates roof isn't too bad 🫤

That was the original plan. But the gullies are a bit more of a risk now after the fresh snow.

My munro-bagger brother would be in there all on his own.

I have no knowledge of the route, but might it be worth considering bringing up 2 seconds on the same rope, with the more competent one at the end and the less competent one tied in a few metres higher?

There are possibilities, but I definitely do not recommend them.

Usually you would place the newest member as climber#2 in the middle of the rope, or close to the end but slightly in front of climber#3. This won't work for your plan on Dorsal as the rope will be clipped in to protection along the ridge, forcing climber#2 to follow the ridge. 

Here are two possible alternatives, both will require doing the crux as a <20m pitch (which is doable but you have to belay as close as to the crux before starting it, and do an extra mini-pitch to top out):

(1) Tie in the newest member as climber#3 at the end of the rope, with climber#2 in the middle. When climber#2 seconds the crux, they remove the protection. Once climber#2 is at the belay, climber#3 is free to follow up the snow slopes on the left.

(2) Tie in the leader in the center of the rope.  Climber#2 ties in at one end, and climber#3 at the other end. The leader only clips protection to the rope going back to climber#2. The leader can belay both climbers at once using guide mode, and climber#3 is free to take the snow slopes. 

Why do I not recommend this? 

(a) the bypass on snow slopes is non trivial

(b) with no protection along the rope for climber#3, and the traversing nature of some of that terrain, the consequences of a slip can be substantial

(c) it's very hard to sort yourself out if something goes wrong

(d) there's still the top out, which is usually a short vertical snow step

Also bear in mind that the approach for Dorsal Arete starts in Broad Gully, which has a NE aspect and is currently showing as "Considerable" risk in the SAIS Glencoe avalanche forecast.

Absolutely.

I tottered up there myself after fresh snow a few years back (when covid was being referred to as 'kung-flu' because it hadn't yet left Wuhan) and yep, it was a bit risky gaining the ridge. I went up the corner where the slope was at it's shortest.

Thank you morpcat. I think you've nailed it.

Some concerns were; the bypass being a bit less straightforward than hoped, and the climb after the crux still being too much for the munro-bagger.

I really appreciate your thoughts and suggestions 👍🙂

I'm sitting opposite schoolhouse and yes, looking different than the weekend! Still 'thin' but could be fun... 

Thank you so much Tim, I really appreciate that 😊👍

I'll be heading up there in the morning 🙂👌

Fantastic! Thanks again

It was thin and powdery up there yesterday. Some good neve found above the ridge. It was a 50/50 call for crampons so it was going to be tricky whether we had them on or not (we put them on eventually). And when we reached the top of Schoolhouse Ridge the weather closed in fast so we bailed off the ridge to it's right.

Ballachulish is a lovely place. The kids were out sledging next to the school, having a great time 👍

Did I see your lights coming off in the dark? There were quite a few people I could see up there yesterday. The oldies were out sledding too

We were down sometime after 2pm.

I noticed quite a few white mini-buses parked outside the youth hostel so maybe a bunch of squaddies were up there?

We didn't see anyone on the ridge or the hill tbh. We were just glad to get off when we did, with how bad the weather turned up there.

We enjoyed an exciting little epic. Our non-climber brother did a great job getting up without the rope. And then the maelstrom hit, it was great!

No doubt the oldies enjoyed the sledging. It looked like great fun. The kids were zooming down that hill at some speed!👍😁

I can't see why the Munro bagger could not do Dorsal Arete, it is not much more than a walk.

Put him in between the climbers. 

or.

Double the rope and lead climber belays both at the same time.!

Euge

Tbh he isn't hill fit at the moment. We took him up Schoolhouse Ridge yesterday in Ballachulish and although he made it up without the rope, it was a fair bit more exciting than expected. Conditions underfoot were very tricky- powder over ice. It's a grade 2 for sure though I could imagine it being a lot easier if the snowline started above, or at least at the very last step up the ridge. So for my brother it was a challenging day.

He said he enjoyed it. But that he also wouldn't do it again 😋 

He'll change his mind in tha morra