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Find out all the news of the projects supported, but also of the Petzl Foundation itself and events.

 

 

Grimper dans les palmiers, un métier dangereux

Saharan agriculture is mainly based on the date palm, especially in the oasis. With more than 17 million palms of which 10 million are exploited, the date is the first food product export in Algeria. Climbers, like acrobats, grow palms and make the date harvest. It's a risky job, often exercised barefoot, with very basic equipment ... How can we prevent falls?

 

According to the Algerian Red Crescent, there has been one death per year in the area of Ghardaia, which represents only 5% of Algerian palm groves. For one death, ten falls were recorded in 2010, many with serious consequences including: disability, inability to work...

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Nepal: training future professional trek guides

The Petzl Foundation has been committed since 2006 to the training of future professional trek guides, in partnership with the Association of Nepal Mountaineering (NMA). Courses were held in early September. The Foundation assigned Eric Lescarcelle, head of Petzl customer service, as an instructor to coach them. Here is a short resume of two intense weeks.


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Call for projects environment!

 

The call for projects for the preservation of the environment ends soon!
You have until July 15, 2011 to propose a project related to mountain activities (climbing, mountaineering, etc). Click here to view the selection criteria and download the application for support.

 

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How to reduce accidents in the Gouter couloir?

The Petzl Foundation offers a contribution to improve safety in the Gouter couloir, on the normal route of Mont Blanc: a study was launched to prevent accidents in this couloir very exposed to falling rocks.

To know more, read the PisteHors.com news: http://pistehors.com/news/ski/comments/1018-a-tunnel-for-the-gouter-couloir/

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Join the public Conservation Vote !

 

Over the next few weeks, thousands of outdoor enthusiasts across Europe will be joining forces to vote for conservation projects worldwide.

In what is becoming an annual event, the European Outdoor Conservation Association, a partnership of outdoor businesses across Europe working together to raise money to put into grassroots conservation projects, is asking for help from the outdoor enthusiast in deciding which projects to support for the coming year.
 

In partnership with 4 national magazines - Trail in the UK, Alpin in Germany, National Geographic Germany and Lift / Bike & Trekking / Sport-Partner in the Netherlands, 19 projects will be put up for the vote. Each magazine will display totally different projects, and readers of each magazine will choose one project that will be funded by EOCA during 2011/12.

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Ice Crystal, a scientific expedition into the heart of the waterfall

How are waterfalls formed?
How does this very specific type of ice react to a climber’s progression and temperature variations?
All climbers have asked themselves these questions at one time or another before attempting a tricky waterfall climb. Only their experience can guide them. But beyond pre-conceived ideas, what is the physical or mechanical reality of these frozen structures?

AN ORIGINAL RESEARCH PROJECT
Many of the questions addressed to the glaciologist Luc Moreau, during his ENSA training sessions for novice mountain guides, are behind this project. Although glacier snow and ice have been the topic of many scientific studies in the past, until now there has not been a serious scientific publication on the issue of waterfall ice.
A world première, this approach aims to provide a better understanding of the formation and behavior of waterfall ice, specifically for climbers but also for the scientific community.

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Results of the 2011 environment request for proposals!

 

Since the creation of the Foundation, we have already received over 450 applications files; 45 projects are currently ongoing in the Foundation’s three action fields: safety, research and mainly scientific study of ice cascades. In the framework of the request for proposals relative to the environment launched in 2007, over 16 projects have already been followed up.

 

This year is a good one, with projects more and more compliant with the selection criteria and Petzl’s activities. Eight projects have been selected, five validated, to which the Foundation will contribute for a total of 30,000 euros in 2011.

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Outdoor Industry Conservation Charity joins IUCN

The Petzl Foundation is proud to announce you that the EOG Association for conservation, of which it has been an active member for 4 years, recently joined the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

 

Zug, Switzerland – 09 March 2010 Following a lengthy and detailed application process, the EOG Association for Conservation is thrilled to announce that it has been admitted into membership of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).


Founded in 1948, the IUCN brings together States, government agencies and a diverse range of non-governmental organisations in a unique world partnership which seeks to safeguard natural resources at local, regional and global levels.

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Successful release of 3 Bearded vultures in the Vercors massif

Three Bearded Vultures were reintroduced in the Vercors massif last June. This action aims at reinforcing the Alpine population and creating a corridor between the Alps and the Pyrenees.

 

 

This reintroduction is in line with a biodiversity restoration policy led by the Parc Naturel Régional du Vercors since the 1980s. It has been the object of a partnership with ASTERS (Conservatoire des Espaces Naturels de Haute-Savoie), VCF (Vulture Conservation Foundation) and the LPO (Ligue de Protection des Oiseaux, Birds Protection League). This conservation plan is also supported by the Ministry of Ecology, Energy, sustainable development and the sea. The Petzl Foundation supports ASTERS in its role of dialogue/cooperation with climbers.

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Makay, the last Eden in flames

The first international scientific expedition in the Makay mountain range in south-west Madagascar confirms the urgency of the implementation of conservation measures. Organized by the Naturevolution association, it has brought together adozen researchers from several institutes and universities and Malagasy researchers. Accompanied by climbers and cavers, scientists have gained access to the most remote and highly inaccessible areas, to collect samples.

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