Though rarely in the spotlight, climbing equipment represents more than a simple accessory for mountaineers. The evolution of such carefully designed gear bears witness to the resourcefulness that climbers use to overcome increasingly challenging terrain, and also embodies their ethical choices. The tools that climbers use clearly reflect their approach to the mountain environment. For forty years, Petzl and its founders have played a major role in the history of mountain exploration. With the golden age of caving as the starting point of its legacy – in which Fernand Petzl played a pioneering role – the manufacturer has explored the different realms of the vertical world: rock, ice, snow, nighttime… The company has also successfully applied its expertise to rescue and work at height. To read about the Petzl adventure is to follow women and men committed to the vertical world and to the very heart of exploration. In constant interaction with an ever-evolving world, they create new means of progression.