In reply to drysori:
> Now I look it up I see that Les Temps Sont Durs is actually French... I asked my brother what it meant assuming it to be Italian, he speaks French too though.
> As a side note, I'm impressed at the level on detail that some teams can put into their topos. We struggled to pick our line out from a photo, I think the topo I've drawn is fairly accurate, but I'd have struggled to give anything by way of pitch grades, beyond thinking that there were a few E1/2 pitches in the middle and a lot of VS/HVS climbing, but nothing easier until the top. I'd have stood very little chance marking the belays on the picture.
I'd assumed they were all from the Geneva area, ie French-speaking - that's where Dalphin is from, along with other Tasermiut pioneers like Piola and Wietlisbach. I see that Zambetti in fact comes from the French-speaking part of Canton Bern.
Yes; unless somebody in the team has an extremely good memory I think the only way of accurately recording a new route of any length is to make notes as you go along - which is obviously easier and more likely to happen if the team consists of more that two people. When you're following a known existing route you already have a descriptive framework to provide a background on which to hang your various recollections, making it all much easier to remember; on a new route, with little idea of what to expect, it's natural to be very focused on where to go next and completely forget the detail of where you've just been!