Grivel

As early as 1818, the Grivel family of blacksmiths sought to transform their manufacture of agricultural tools to satisfy the demands of a new breed of wealthy tourists looking for a new kind of tool with which to explore the mountains.

As the roots of mountaineering slowly grew, the Grivel ice axe came into being - often met with a degree of scepticism. A similar incredulity met the English engineer Oscar Eckenstein in 1909 when he asked Henry Grivel to manufacture the first modern alpine crampon. In 1929, Henry’s son Laurent was behind the creation of the first dual front points. This innovation allowed climbers to stand face on while negotiating steep ice and snow routes. This would later prove key to conquering the last unsolved route of the Alps: the North of the Eiger, 21-24th July, 1938.

Now over 200 years later, Grivel continues to balance tradition with progress; between forging and aerospace technology, between intuition and R&D.

Grivel has achieved all possible certifications: from TUV GS (Sichereit Gepruft) for product quality to ISO 9001-Vision 2000 for their management system and even the ISO 14001 environmental Certification for Environmental Compatibility.

The new location also sees a switch to solar energy making Grivel's production cleaner and more eco-friendly. Since 2010 all their energy needs are produced by their own photovoltaic panels, seeing them save an equivalent of 1173 barrels of oil every year.

For premium gear to fulfil your every climbing need- think Grivel.