Collection of Historical Paul K. Petzoldt Film Negatives
With your support, History Jackson Hole will acquire this newly discovered collection of photographs which includes Paul Petzoldt’s first climb of the Grand Teton in 1924. This collection will become a part of History Jackson Hole’s permanent collection and available for the public to enjoy.
This remarkable collection of some 182 previously unknown negatives documents events from Paul Petzoldt’s life during the 1920s. Of particular note are nearly 60 negatives from 1924-1925, a time when he first climbed the Grand Teton and embarked on his extraordinary career. Prior to this finding, only six images of Petzoldt during the period were known to exist. The images are being offered for sale and, as collectables, they are not cheap. The goal of this fundraising effort is to purchase the set in its entirety so that all the photos are available for research and other public use.
Paul Kiesow Petzoldt (1908-1999) is a towering figure in Teton and American mountaineering history, and a famous character of the early days of Jackson Hole and Grand Teton National Park (GTNP). He first came to the area as a 16-year-old in 1924, when he and friend Ralph Herron, age 18, climbed the Grand Teton. Petzoldt went on to become the first climbing guide in GTNP and to pioneer numerous routes throughout the range. His Petzoldt School of American Mountaineering, formalized in 1930, continues today as Exum Mountain Guides; it is the oldest climbing guide service in the nation.
Petzoldt made significant ascents in other American ranges and the Andes and made a 1938 attempt on K2 in the Karakoram, reaching nearly 8000 meters. He served in the Tenth Mountain Division during World War Two, then returned to guide in the Tetons off and on until 1955, when he sold out to Glenn Exum, his business partner since 1932. In 1965 Petzoldt founded the National Outdoor Leadership School, based in Lander, Wyoming, and his final decades were devoted to conservation causes and outdoor education.
The photos taken during the momentous 1924 climb of the Grand, when Petzoldt and Herron made only the fifth undisputed ascent of the mountain, have extraordinary historical value. The trip included a legendary bivouac during a failed attempt on the peak’s east ridge, and eventual success via the Owen-Spalding route two days later. It has become a famous part of Teton lore, but nothing documenting the outing was known to exist, and only stories survived. These negatives are an exciting and important discovery.
The collection has other images from 1924, including Petzoldt’s Grand climb with Billy Owen, plus 14 significant images documenting the Tetons in 1925, including an attempt on the Grand’s east ridge and the recovery of Theodore Teepe’s body from its slopes. Also included are various images of a youthful Petzoldt in 1923-1924, taken at locales such as Long Beach, Tijuana, and Stanford University. There are Yellowstone views from a 1927 trip with his brother and family, and other undated images of Jackson Hole, Grand Teton, and the Jackson Lake Dam.
These historical film negatives document an important man in the early years of Jackson Hole, the Tetons and the Park. The collection includes high-resolution black and white digital images made from the negatives and restored using modern software, descriptive captions and technical information about the film, and the fruits of more than 300 hours of research done by the collector (newspaper articles, yearbook entries, and more). The entire collection will be a unique and valuable addition to the museum’s holdings.
Donations are tax-deductible and, in the unlikely case the funds to purchase the entire Petzoldt negative collection are unable to be raised, will be used to purchase a portion of the set and/or further History Jackson Hole’s collections. History Jackson Hole is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, Federal Tax ID # 830247464.