[Muenchener]

I already knew that Brits like to name climbing techniques after great French alpinists: a "gaston" is a gaston.

I already knew that Germans like to name climbing techniques after great Italian alpinists: a "Piaz" is a layback.

New to me today - whilst planning my Easter activities in Arco (senza famiglia this year) - is that Italians like to name climbing techniques after great German alpinists.

One of my target routes apparently starts up "un bellissimo diedro bianco, scivoloso anche da asciutto, si fa tutto in dulfer".  Dülfer was a noted crack climber, and and trhe fact that it takes place in a "diedro" limits the range of possibilities, but I'm hoping it's "laybacking" or "bridging" and not, say, arm-barring or squeeze chimney thrutching ...?

[lagerstarfish]

Dülfer was known for developing the layback

laybacks are sometimes called "dulfer" in French guidebooks too

eg. the free alternative to the aid crack on the Bonatti Piller was described as "une dulfer tres soutenue"

[Muenchener]

Dülfer was known for developing the layback

laybacks are sometimes called "dulfer" in French guidebooks too

eg. the free alternative to the aid crack on the Bonatti Piller was described as "une dulfer tres soutenue"

So the Germans think Dülfer learned it from Piaz, and the Italians (and the French) think Piaz learned it from Dülfer?

[lagerstarfish]

and I think it was invented by Edward Whymper, but no one likes to admit to whimpering their way up a route

[Muenchener]

It's as if the Americans called fist jamming "brownian motion"

[lagerstarfish]

and why do the Americans use the French "rappel" while in the UK we use the German "abseil" ?

[Nibile]

 
Nice topic! Yes, for us alpinists and hard mountaineers, a Dulfer is a layback. In a crack, hands pull while feet push.
It's one of those magic words that, ages ago, my friend and I looked for in the guidebook, to write possible routes off.
Others were: camino, diedro, pendolo, basically everything bar open, clear slabs.
Other important captions were after routes' sections, like "the human trap", "use the human tower technique", or routes' names like "the oblique death".

[Muenchener]

Other important captions were ... routes' names like "the oblique death".

I may be back with more questions / a list of suspect route names after I've studied the Sarca Valley guidebook a bit more. Not that I'll need much help with staying away from the obvious 1500 metre overhanging choss fests on Monte Brento.

[Johnny Brown]

If you change your mind, I've done 'Vertigine'. Outrageous positions but rather dull climbing - 500 overhanging metres of A0 enlived only by the odd bad bolt.