Petzl is a climbing gear brand founded in Crolles, France, in 1975. Its North American headquarters is in West Valley City, Utah.
In 1953, while Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay stood on top of Everest, Fernand Petzl was headed down into the deepest cave in the world, as SGB tells it. Petzl was a tool and die maker by trade, and he built caving gear for himself and his friends long before he sold any. The family company now runs its North American business from West Valley City.
His first rope ascenders went on sale in 1968. In 1972 his sons Paul and Pierre joined him in a 75 square meter garage, which is now a bakery. The company set up its first headquarters in Crolles, France, in 1975, and the Grigri arrived at the end of 1991, built so climbing instructors could supervise several ropes of beginners at once.
Petzl is still family run from France, with Paul as president. Its American arm moved to Clearfield in 1998, the first distribution center Petzl owned outside France. After committing $20 million to a new building, it moved to West Valley City in 2014. Rope access workers and rescue crews train there on a 55 foot climbing wall. Fernand's gear started out going down. In West Valley it mostly goes up.
The Grigri is named for African good luck charms, because Petzl team member Michel Suhubiette asked colleagues about their grigri in a work meeting and the word stuck.
Great lights and great ropes. One of my favorite gear companies.
Alex
