Paul Petzoldt

Petzoldt was born in Creston, Iowa. The youngest of nine children, he lived on an Iowa homestead but his father, Charles, died in 1911.^[2] He left with his mother, Emma, to farm in Idaho.^[2] From 1929 to 1932, Petzoldt attended the University of Idaho, the University of Wyoming, and the University of Utah but did not earn a degree.^[1]

Along with friend Ralph Herron, he made his first ascent of the Grand Teton in 1924 at the age of 16, likely only the fourth or fifth ascent.^[3] Along with Glenn Exum, he founded what is now Exum Mountain Guides, the oldest Alpine guiding service in the U.S.^[4] He developed several techniques mountaineers still use such as specific voice signals and a snow-climbing belay system.^[2]

In 1931 Petzoldt made the fourth ascent of Exum Ridge in order to create a video documenting the new route.^[5] Created by Park Ranger George Waters, it is some of the earliest North American climbing footage in existence.^[5]

In 1934 he traversed the Matterhorn, then retraced the route on the same day.^[1] He and Dan Bryant, from New Zealand, were the first climbers ever to traverse the Matterhorn twice in one day.

In 1938 he was a member of the first American team to attempt a climb on K2.^[5] During the climb he went to 26,000 feet without supplementary oxygen, a record height at the time.^[1]

During World War II Petzoldt served in the U.S. Army's 10th Mountain Division,^[6] fighting on the Italian Front. He also helped train the ski and mountaineering troops.^[2] A documentary, Fire on the Mountain, chronicles the creation of the division, their time in Italy, and their post-war lives.^[7]

In 1955 Petzoldt sold his portion of the guide school to Exum.^[8]

He testified in favor of the Wilderness Act which created a formal mechanism for designating wilderness.^[9] The growing interest in the wilderness paired with little training inspired Petzoldt to create his own school.^[9]

From 1963 to 1965,^[1] Petzoldt was the chief instructor for Outward Bound Colorado prior to establishing NOLS, the National Outdoor Leadership School.^[10] Noted in his introduction to The New Wilderness Handbook, his experience in NOLS, Outward Bound, and love of the wilderness evolved into the Wilderness Education Association. Started in 1977,^[9] the courses, certification and knowledge of the WEA are still helping many advocates of the environment learn to have low-impact adventures in the environment.^[11]

Petzoldt climbed Grand Teton more than 300 times.^[1] His last successful ascent was in 1984.^[2] He pioneered numerous, now classic routes in the Tetons, Wind River Range, Sawtooths and in Colombia’s Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta.^[2] He died October 6, 1999 in Maine.

He was given an honorary doctorate by Kansas State University and by Unity College in Maine.^[2] He received the Conservation Award from the Department of Interior for his search of The Tribesman II plane crash on Mount Moran.^[12] He received the Banquet of the Golden Plate Award from the American Academy of Achievement.^[2]

He was inducted into The Explorers Club.^[2] He received the Eddie Bauer Award for conservation.^[2] The American Mountain Guides Association honored him as a senior guide.^[2]

In January 2026 a Wyoming PBS documentary “A Life Outside: American Mountain Guides” premiered at AlpinFilm festival in Jackson, Wyoming.^[13] It highlights the legacy of Petzoldt and follows Exum guides on the Grand Teton and NOLS students in the Wind River Range.^[13]

• Ramshorn Dude Ranch Lodge: a National Register of Historic Places property associated with Petzoldt