Paul Petzoldt Dead at 91
Petzoldt, who was a pioneer in ranges around the world, made a name for himself in the Tetons where he had 26 first ascents to his credit. A sturdy figure with bushy, trademark, eyebrows, Petzoldt made an early ascent of the 13,772-foot-high Grand Teton in 1924 when he was only 16. "The Grand Teton has been a part of my life," Petzoldt said at his 90th birthday party held in the shadow of the mountain in 1998. "I was lucky to get out alive on my first trip in 1924. I learned I was a damn fool, and that if I was going to live around mountains and do these things, I had to get some horse sense." Petzoldt died of prostate cancer. He is survived by his wife, Virginia. Services will be held in Maine and Jackson Hole, but have not been scheduled. Petzoldt was the first person to guide clients in the Tetons and he established guiding and climbing protocols that have been adopted across North America. Even the signals climbers shout to one another today as they safeguard their passage up cliffs were developed by Petzoldt. Petzoldt had a strong faith in younger generations whom he sought to introduce to the mountains through NOLS, which he established in 1965. Nancy Carson, a Wilson resident who took a NOLS course from Petzoldt in 1967 and who worked for him afterwards, said the crusty mountaineer will be remembered for his forward-looking leadership. "He knew the heart of young people and could tap into that," she said. Carson was with Petzoldt in 1984 when he made his last ascent of the Grand Teton on the 60th anniversary of his first Teton climb. During the 1984 ascent Petzoldt ignored the cloudy weather, left base camp on his own and struck out for the summit which he attained with only a handful of his original party. Grand Teton National Park ranger and Teton guidebook author Renny Jackson said Petzoldt was living history. "He's certainly a link between the very earliest Teton climbing history and we who are alive today." Jackson said. "He was certainly the living legend around this place." The Petzoldt Ridge on the Grand Teton — a spur of rock that extends several thousand feet down the mountain's south side — was named after Petzoldt who was the first to climb it. Bill Briggs, the first person to ski the Grand, descended next to the Petzoldt Ridge during his historic 1971 ski. He said the pioneer climber was inspirational and broke new ground. "I think he was a super innovator for American mountaineering," Briggs said. "He started up the guiding, the outdoor instruction for survival — this is a real pioneer." Briggs noted that many of Petzoldt's first ascents were done while working as a guide, towing less experienced mountaineers in his wake. "He did them with clients!" Briggs exclaimed. "God, that's wonderful!" Petzoldt was guiding clients the day he took a young Glenn Exum under his wing in 1931 and directed him to a ridge on the Grand that had not been climbed. Exum made the first ascent — a feat Petzoldt repeated in the afternoon — and the ridge now bears his name. Exum took over the guide service as Petzoldt moved on to other arenas. In 1938 he was on an American expedition to K2, the world's second-highest peak, where he came close to the summit without using supplemental oxygen. — Angus M. Thuermer, Jr., Jackson Hole News
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Paul Petzoldt