Background
Paul Kiesow Petzoldt was born on January 16, 1908, in Creston, Iowa, United States. He was the youngest of nine children of Charles and Emma Petzoldt. His father died when Paul was three years old. He grew up on a farm in southern Idaho.
https://www.amazon.com/Wilderness-Handbook-Paul-Petzoldt-1974-04-01/dp/B01FIX2IAS/?tag=2022091-20
1974
https://www.amazon.com/Petzoldts-Teton-Trails-personal-experiences/dp/0915272059/?tag=2022091-20
1976
(Conservation is the theme: of the individual, of equipmen...)
Conservation is the theme: of the individual, of equipment, and of the environment. Clothing, equipment, and rations are thoroughly discussed, along with the necessity for good expedition behavior. There are chapters on trail techniques, camping for conservation, and basic climbing, and more specialized information on summer snow techniques and winter mountaineering. Reading of topographical maps is included. Detailed illustrations supplement technical material such as knots and use of climbing ropes; and there is valuable appendix material, including checklists of equipment and clothing and recipes.
https://www.amazon.com/Wilderness-Handbook-Revised-Petzoldt-1984-07-17/dp/B01NH0BQN9/?tag=2022091-20
1984
(Teton Tales begins with his near-fatal climb of the Grand...)
Teton Tales begins with his near-fatal climb of the Grand Teton in 1924. What follows is a collection of stories that trace his trail full of switchbacks from the Tetons to Toledo, from Wyoming to Windsor Castle, from Mount Moran to the Matterhorn, and everywhere in between. For years Petzoldt thrilled audiences with his colorful storytelling and unique voice. Enjoy many of his classic "anecdotes" and some never before heard tales.
https://www.amazon.com/Teton-Tales-Other-Petzoldt-Anecdotes/dp/1570340153
1995
Paul Kiesow Petzoldt was born on January 16, 1908, in Creston, Iowa, United States. He was the youngest of nine children of Charles and Emma Petzoldt. His father died when Paul was three years old. He grew up on a farm in southern Idaho.
Paul Kiesow Petzoldt attended several universities from 1929 to 1932, but did not earn a degree.
Paul Kiesow Petzoldt was associated throughout his life with nearby Wyoming’s Grand Teton mountain peak, which he first climbed in cowboy boots at the age of sixteen, and last climbed at the age of eighty-six when, suffering from glaucoma, he stopped at 11,000 feet, just 2,000 feet shy of the summit he had reached many times before.
In the early 1930s, Petzoldt established the first guide service in the Grand Teton National Park and began the experiments that led to the development of a rhythmic breathing technique, a unique voice-signal system, and what is known as the "sliding middle man" method of crossing snow. Other outstanding feats of the 1930s include Petzoldt's famous 1934 "double traverse" of the Matterhorn, which he made in one day, and taking part in the American expedition up K-2, the second-highest mountain in the world, during which he set an American record for climbing without an oxygen tank.
In 1941, Petzoldt joined other rock climbers to rescue a marooned parachutist who had landed atop Devil's Tower, an 865-feet-high fluted volcanic spire in Wyoming. Once they reached the parachutist, Mr. Petzoldt proposed leading him down, while Dick Durrance, who organized the rescue, and the other climbers followed.
During World War II, Mr. Petzoldt taught safety techniques to the Tenth Mountain Division at Camp Hale, Colorado. He also worked in the Department of Agriculture sending food to Russia. After selling his guide service in 1955, Mr. Petzoldt tried alfalfa farming in Wyoming and soon went broke.
In 1963, he joined the Outward Bound program in Colorado as its chief instructor. He left in 1965 to start the National Outdoor Leadership School in Lander, Wyoming, with the goal of training wilderness guides in matters of safety with an eye for environmental conservation. Petzoldt wrote two books, the 1974 Wilderness Handbook, and the 1976 Petzoldt’s Teton Trails. When he died in 1999, his ashes were scattered over the Grand Tetons in Wyoming.
Paul Kiesow Petzoldt influenced climbing in the United States for much of the 20th century. He developed a number of mountaineering techniques to aid survival during winter climbs at high altitudes, and whose school, the National Outdoor Leadership School, specialized in teaching people how to enjoy the wilderness without damaging the environment. More than 50,000 students have graduated from the National Outdoor Leadership School.
(Conservation is the theme: of the individual, of equipmen...)
1984(Teton Tales begins with his near-fatal climb of the Grand...)
1995In 1977 Paul Kiesow Petzoldt founded Wilderness Education Association (WEA) to bring wilderness education to colleges around the country.
Paul Kiesow Petzoldt's first three marriages ended in divorce. He was married to Virginia.
