Petzl the book!

Editions Guérin has just published a novel about a company and its environment, "From the deep, the Petzl adventure."
Co-authored by Sophie Cuenot and Hervé Bodeau, this book chronicles the Petzl adventure that started almost four decades ago.
From the founders to the environment in which the company grew, from passion to products, from success to family, Petzl’s story is told through eyes of the men and women who built the company.

Discover the book

Mountain history is filled with the names and exploits of those who have excelled in the vertical world. However, the tools that allowed for these amazing feats are rarely, if ever, mentioned. Yet their design and improvement over the course of this history contributed to the success of increasingly bold adventures, and to the development of a wide variety of mountain activities.
For more than forty years, Petzl and its founders have served this movement. Through its caving heritage, in which Fernand Petzl played a major role, the manufacturer has and continues to explore all facets of the mountains – rock, snow, ice, nighttime - in addition to the complex world of mountain rescue and work-at-heights. From headlamps to the Grigri belay device, by way of alpine touring bindings, harnesses or ice axes, Petzl’s history represents a series of inventions that facilitate access to different types of terrain, during the day and at night. Written like a novel, this history also tells the saga of a family that started from nothing to build a world-renowned brand.

Leaf through an excerpt & see a slide show >>

Watch the video – an interview with Paul Petzl

The Petzl adventure started almost four decades ago. I understand its history is of interest. The founders, the environment in which the company works, its products, being family-owned, growth, success, so many elements that I have come to realize pique people’s curiosity. This curiosity has often left me in disbelief. On more than one occasion I have been offered to write this story, and thought to myself, ‘what good is looking back?’
Little by little I have come to understand that the company’s past, the path it has taken, the history of the men who came up with the idea, are not obsolete but continue to be one of Petzl’s major strengths.

A word from the publisher

For Éditions Guérin, this book is a first. Telling the story of a major mountain sports brand provides the opportunity to relive 30 years of history in the vertical world through the prism of those tools that provided access. However, this is not the simple tale of technology and equipment, but the story of passionate, determined and insightful women and men. We are very pleased to have started this new editorial approach with Petzl, whose creative singularity is perfectly exemplified throughout the book.

Christophe Raylat

 

Buy the book

Format 23 x 23 cm - 272 pages - available in French and English versions
Éditions Guérin - Price: 35 € (including tax)

• Book available in both languages at Petzl retailers:
  contact your sales outlet or Petzl distributor.
  
• You can buy the French version on the Éditions Guérin website: order online.