Paul Petzoldt
{{Short description|American mountain climber}}
{{refimprove|date=August 2020}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Paul Petzoldt
| image =
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1908|01|16}}
| birth_place = Creston, Iowa, US
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1999|10|06|1908|01|16}}
| death_place = Topsham, Maine, US
| other_names =
| known_for = Founder of the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS); involved in the introduction of Outward Bound to the US
| occupation = Mountaineer
| nationality =
}}
Paul Kiesow Petzoldt (January 16, 1908 – October 6, 1999) was an American mountaineer and wilderness educator known for establishing the National Outdoor Leadership School in 1965.{{Cite news|last=Wren|first=Christopher S.|date=1999-10-09|title=Paul Petzoldt Is Dead at 91; Innovator in Rock Climbing|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/10/09/us/paul-petzoldt-is-dead-at-91-innovator-in-rock-climbing.html|access-date=2021-12-13|issn=0362-4331}}
Early life
Petzoldt was born in Creston, Iowa. The youngest of nine children, he was raised on a farm in southern Idaho. 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.
Career
He made his first ascent of the Grand Teton in 1924 at the age of 16. He had a hand in creating the first professional guide service in the United States, the Petzoldt-Exum Guide School which later became Exum Mountain Guides according to the National Park Service. In 1938 he was a member of the first American team to attempt a climb on K2. For the climb he did not use assisted oxygen; he learned to use rhythmic breathing.{{citation needed|date=October 2011}} He and Dan Bryant, from New Zealand, were the first climbers ever to traverse the Matterhorn twice in one day.
During World War II Petzoldt served in the U.S. Army's 10th Mountain Division,{{Cite book
| publisher = Mountaineers Books
| isbn = 0-89886-725-8
| last = Ringholz
| first = Raye Carleson
| title = On Belay!: The Life of Legendary Mountaineer Paul Petzoldt
| date = May 2000
| url-access = registration
| url = https://archive.org/details/onbelay00raye_0
}} fighting on the Italian Front.
From 1963 to 1965, Petzoldt was the chief instructor for Outward Bound Colorado prior to establishing NOLS, the National Outdoor Leadership School.{{Cite news|last=Olson|first=Martha Stevenson|date=2001-05-27|title=PRACTICAL TRAVELER; Roughing It, And Not for TV|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/05/27/travel/practical-traveler-roughing-it-and-not-for-tv.html|access-date=2021-12-13|issn=0362-4331}} 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. WEA courses, certification and knowledge are still helping many advocates of the environment learn to have low-impact adventures in the environment. ({{cite web |url=http://www.nols.edu/alumni/leader/95fall/paultellshisstory.shtml Outward Bound, and his own NOLS.
Among the early instructors in Petzoldt's Outward Bound programs was Vince Lee.{{Citation needed|date=December 2021}}
See also
- Ramshorn Dude Ranch Lodge: a National Register of Historic Places property associated with Petzoldt
References
{{reflist}}
- Petzoldt, Paul, Raye Carlson Ringholz. The New Wilderness Handbook. WW Norton & Company. New York: 1975.
- Petzoldt, Paul K. Teton Tales and Other Petzoldt Anecdotes. ICS Books, Inc. Merrillville, Indiana: 1995.
External links
- [http://www.nols.edu/ National Outdoor Leadership School]
- [http://www.weainfo.org Wilderness Education Association]
- [http://wilderdom.com/Petzoldt.htm Paul Petzoldt: brief biography and quotes]
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Category:American mountain climbers
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