Petzl Belay Devices
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Petzl is a French manufacturer of
climbing Climbing is the activity of using one's hands, feet, or other parts of the body to ascend a steep topographical object that can range from the world's tallest mountains (e.g. the eight thousanders) to small boulders. Climbing is done for locom ...
gear,
caving Caving, also known as spelunking (United States and Canada) and potholing (United Kingdom and Ireland), is the recreational pastime of exploring wild cave systems (as distinguished from show caves). In contrast, speleology is the scientific ...
gear, work-at-height equipment, and
headlamp A headlamp is a lamp attached to the front of a vehicle to illuminate the road ahead. Headlamps are also often called headlights, but in the most precise usage, ''headlamp'' is the term for the device itself and ''headlight'' is the term for t ...
s based in
Crolles Crolles () is a commune in the Isère department in southeastern France. It is located in the Isère valley, 20 km northeast of Grenoble, upstream on the river Isère. It has given its name to the Dent de Crolles mountain (2,062 m), whic ...
(near
Grenoble Grenoble ( ; ; or ; or ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of the Isère Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region ...
), France. The company was created by the cave explorer
Fernand Petzl Fernand Petzl (April 7, 1913 – May 31, 2003) was a caver and manufacturer of outdoor equipment under the brand name Petzl. Petzl lived most of his life in the village of Saint-Ismier (near Grenoble), France at the foot of the mountain Dent ...
in the mid-1970s. Their three specialties are: *Vertical sports: equipment for
mountaineering Mountaineering, mountain climbing, or alpinism is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas that have become mounta ...
, climbing, caving, etc. *Work at height and
rescue Rescue comprises responsive operations that usually involve the saving of life, removal from danger, liberation from restraint, or the urgent treatment of injury, injuries after an incident. It may be facilitated by a range of tools and equipm ...
: solutions for progression and safety in difficult-access worksites and in
technical rescue Technical rescue is the use of specialised tools and skills for rescue, including but not limited to confined space rescue, rope rescue, trench rescue, structural collapse rescue, ice rescue, swift water rescue, underwater rescue, and cave rescue. ...
. *Headlamps (head torches) that provide hands-free lighting.


History

Fernand Petzl, born in 1912, began his
caving Caving, also known as spelunking (United States and Canada) and potholing (United Kingdom and Ireland), is the recreational pastime of exploring wild cave systems (as distinguished from show caves). In contrast, speleology is the scientific ...
career in the late 1920s and early 1930s. In 1936, Petzl was introduced to, then small-time caver, Pierre Chevalier. The two began work on improving the technology behind their sport. In 1943, Chevalier designed and tested the first
nylon Nylon is a family of synthetic polymers characterised by amide linkages, typically connecting aliphatic or Polyamide#Classification, semi-aromatic groups. Nylons are generally brownish in color and can possess a soft texture, with some varieti ...
rope to replace caving ladders. This technology provided the foundation for nearly all vertical safety methods to come. Chevalier's innovation led to the first 1,000 meter cave descent when Petzl explored the
Gouffre Berger The Gouffre Berger is a cave in the French alps within the commune of Engins high on the Vercors Plateau. It was discovered on 24 May 1953 by Joseph Berger, Georges Bouvet, Ruiz de Arcaute and Marc Jouffrey. From 1953 to 1963, it was regarded as ...
in France in 1950. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Petzl began experimenting further with vertical safety technology, and in 1968 he produced his first rope ascenders, then marketed as “Produits Fernand Petzl (Fernand Petzl Products)”. Five years later, in 1973, Petzl developed his first mountaineering headlamp. In 1975, the Petzl corporation was born as Fernand Petzl established the first company headquarters in Crolles, France. “This was the beginning of Petzl manufacturing.”. The initial workshop was approximately , and located at the base of
Dent de Crolles The Dent de Crolles () is a karstic mountain (2,062 m) of the Chartreuse Mountains range, north east of Grenoble, Isère, France. The mountain has a characteristic "tooth-like" profile; the French word ''dent'' means "tooth". ''de Crolles'' is d ...
“Tooth of Crolles” close to Grenoble. Two years after establishing a base, Petzl produced its first vertical
safety harness A safety harness is a form of Personal protective equipment, protective equipment designed to safeguard the user from injury or death from falling. The core item of a fall arrest system, the harness is usually fabricated from rope, Wire rope, bra ...
in 1977. In the early 1980s the company began expanding its products from caving to vertical sports such as
rock climbing Rock climbing is a climbing sports discipline that involves ascending climbing routes, routes consisting of natural rock in an outdoor environment, or on artificial resin climbing walls in a mostly indoor environment. Routes are documented in c ...
and
mountaineering Mountaineering, mountain climbing, or alpinism is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas that have become mounta ...
, as well as to rescue. The company's first brand name
head lamp A headlamp is a lamp attached to the front of a vehicle to illuminate the road ahead. Headlamps are also often called headlights, but in the most precise usage, ''headlamp'' is the term for the device itself and ''headlight'' is the term for t ...
, the ZOOM, was produced in 1981. Later, in 1986, Petzl developed its first R&D department and testing tower. In 1990, Petzl's first products for work at height were produced, and the Petzl Securité department was developed. Petzl's first self braking device, the
Grigri A Grigri (styled as GriGri or GRIGRI) is an assisted braking belay device manufactured by Petzl designed to help secure rock-climbing, rappelling, and rope-acrobatic activities. Its main characteristic is a clutch that assists in braking ...
, was produced a year later in the United States. The Grigri is still produced and sold toda

Also developed in the 1990s was a modification of Fernand Petzl's initial rope ascender design. The TIBLOC, which is still sold today, was developed in 1998. In 1998, Petzl moved its North American distribution center from
La Fayette, Georgia LaFayette ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Walker County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 6,888. It was founded as Chattooga. LaFayette is part of the Chattanooga, TN-GA Metropolitan Statistical ...
, United States, to
Clearfield, Utah Clearfield (Shoshone: , "Place where the wind blows hard") is a city in Davis County, Utah, United States. The population was 31,909 at the 2020 census. The city grew rapidly during the 1940s, with the formation of Hill Air Force Base, and in ...
, United States.‘’Jones’’ The Clearfield center became the first corporate owned distribution center outside of its own country (France). At the time Petzl depended upon 28 private firms for distribution outside of North America. Pigeon Mountain Industries was the former distributor of Petzl products in North America before the development of the Clearfield location. Petzl acquired the ice axe and crampon developer Charlet Moser in 2000, thereby expanding its production to include ice climbing technology. The first LED headlamps were produced in 2000 under the brand name TIKKA. As of 2001, Petzl had approximately 600 products. Later in 2002, the QUARK ERGO was developed and designed to be the first leashless, angled ice axe. In 2004, Petzl's first fall arrest device for work at height was developed. In 2006, the Petzl corporation introduced new general director Pascal Bonino, and the Petzl Foundation was also developed. The aim of the foundation is to promote low-impact outdoor activity as well as raise social and environmental awareness for outdoor sports such as mountaineering.Petzl Foundation Endorses ROCTRIP
/ref> This is accomplished through the Petzl Foundation's endorsement of ecological preservation projects, research in risk prevention, and general education in work at height and recreational activities at height. In 2006, Petzl America commissioned the recall of approximately 8,000
Carabiner A carabiner or karabiner (), often shortened to biner or to crab, colloquially known as a (climbing) clip, is a specialized type of shackle, a metal loop with a spring-loaded gate used to quickly and reversibly connect components, most notabl ...
s due to the models’ susceptibility to failure. In January 2007, Petzl participated in safety and rescue demonstrations in Dubai at the world's largest security and safety fair ‘’Arabia2000’’
Fernand Petzl Fernand Petzl (April 7, 1913 – May 31, 2003) was a caver and manufacturer of outdoor equipment under the brand name Petzl. Petzl lived most of his life in the village of Saint-Ismier (near Grenoble), France at the foot of the mountain Dent ...
died in 2003. His son, Paul, is the president and founder of the Petzl corporation.


The Petzl Team

The Petzl Team is a group of climbers and innovators who assist the company to develop and test its products. The team consists of the following: *
Josune Bereziartu Josune Bereziartu (born January 19, 1972), also known as Josune Bereciartu Urruzola, is a Basque rock climber. For a decade starting in the late 1990s, she was considered the strongest female sport climber in the world and is regarded as one of t ...
*
Emily Harrington Emily Harrington (born August 17, 1986) is an American professional rock climber and mountaineer. She is a five-time US National Champion in sport lead climbing, runner-up in the 2005 IFSC Climbing World Championships, and has made the first fe ...
*
François Damilano François () is a French masculine given name and surname, equivalent to the English name Francis. People with the given name * François Amoudruz (1926–2020), French resistance fighter * François-Marie Arouet (better known as Voltaire; 1 ...
*
Daniel Du Lac Daniel commonly refers to: * Daniel (given name), a masculine given name and a surname * List of people named Daniel * List of people with surname Daniel * Daniel (biblical figure) * Book of Daniel, a biblical apocalypse, "an account of the activi ...
* Dave Graham *
Lynn Hill Carolynn Marie Hill (born January 3, 1961) is an American rock climber. Widely regarded as one of the leading competition climbers, traditional climbers (and particularly big wall climbers), sport climbers, and boulderers in the world during ...
*
Alexander Huber Alexander Huber (born 30 December 1968) is a German rock climber who is considered one of the greatest and most influential climbers in the history of rock climbing. Huber came to prominence in the early 1990s as the world's strongest sport c ...
*
Robert Jasper The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, praise, reno ...
*
Olivier Testa Olivier Testa (born April 1, 1977) is a French caver, known for his discovery of the orange cave-dwelling crocodiles of Gabon, the Iroungou burial cave in Gabon, the discovery of unexpected caves in the volcanic Bamboutos mountains in Cameroo ...
*
Chris Sharma Chris Omprakash Sharma (born 23 April 1981) is an American rock climber who is considered one of the greatest and most influential climbers in the history of the sport. He dominated sport climbing for the decade after his 2001 ascent of '' Real ...
Several members of the team are professional climbers. Some such as Chris Sharma have climbed some of the world's hardest routes. Such routes by Sharma include ''
Jumbo Love ''Jumbo Love'' is a very long sport climbing route, on remote limestone cliffs on Clark Mountain in the Mojave Desert. Bolted by American climber Randy Leavitt in the 1990s, he invited Chris Sharma to attempt it in 2007. When Sharma completed ...
'' (5.15ab) in 2008, '' La Rambla'', ''
Es Pontàs Es Pontàs ("the big bridge" in the Catalan language) is a natural arch made from limestone in the southeastern part of the island of Mallorca in Spain. The arch is located on the coastline between the Cala Santanyí and Cala Llombards in the muni ...
'' and '' Realization'' (considered to be first 5.15 class route) in 2001. Lynn Hill, another Petzl team member, was the first woman to set and ascend a route graded at 5.12+ or 5.13. In 1990, Hill was the winner of the
IFSC Climbing World Cup The IFSC Climbing World Cup is a series of competition climbing events held during the year at various locations around the world, organized by the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC). At each event, the athletes compete in three d ...
. Hill also became the first person to free climb The Nose at Yosemite's
El Capitan El Capitan (; ) is a vertical Rock formations in the United States, rock formation in Yosemite National Park, on the north side of Yosemite Valley, near its western end. The El Capitan Granite, granite monolith is about from base to summit alo ...
in under 24 hours.


References


External links

{{Climbing-nav Caving equipment Climbing and mountaineering equipment companies Manufacturing companies of France Companies based in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Sporting goods manufacturers of France French companies established in 1970