The race goes across the Swiss Alps: Zermatt – Arolla – Verbier; is 57.5 kilometres in length; covers altitude differences of +4386m ascent and –4520m descent - this is equivalent to 110 km without altitude difference. The race takes place once every two years at the end of April, in the south part of the canton of Valais below the summits of the Pennine Alps.
Wenger became a major sponsor of the race in 1996. They provided a new knife for each biennial race since 1998. Early knives are marked with the year. Dates for later knives are of varying reliability, and should be treated with caution. Wenger also offered a watch in conjunction with the event – Commando Patrouille des Glaciers (# 70892).
The 1998 PdG knife (1.510.02) was based on Classic 10 model and was dedicated to the village of Zermatt. It has a brass plate on the front red scale displaying a mountain log cabin and a view of the Matterhorn mountain. The main blade was marked with the lettering: PATROUILLE DES GLACIERS. The rear scale is unmarked.
The 2000 PdG knife (1.511.02.M) also was based on Classic 10 model and was dedicated to village of Arolla. It has a brass plate on the front scale displaying a mountain hut and a view of the Tete Blanche mountain. The main blade was marked with the lettering: PATROUILLE DES GLACIERS. The blue-and-white PdG mountain logo (the race altitude profile) was printed on the rear scale.
The 2002 PdG knife (1.512.02) was based on Classic 10 model too. It has a brass plate on the front scale displaying a mountain view with a hut (probably Mont-Front hut in Verbier) on the first plan. The main blade was marked with the lettering: PATROUILLE DES GLACIERS. The blue-and-white PdG mountain logo (the race altitude profile) was printed on the rear scale.
2004 – No information.
2006 – Commander / Classic 10. The knife does not have the brass plate on the front scale. Instead ‘Patrouille Des Glaciers’ is printed horizontally on the front scale, with the PdG mountain outline above it.
2008 – Ranger 174 (1.077.174.00.02). The knife was sold commercially as the Ranger 174 Touring, with the PdG mountain outline on the front scale and no other markings. It is not know if this was also the official version, or if that model had more extensive markings.
2010 – EvoGrip S17 (the identifier is unknown). The knife has blue EvoGrips with black neoprene inserts. ‘Patrouille Des Glaciers’ and the PdG mountain outline (the race altidude profile) are engraved in the black insert on the front scale. No markings on the blade.
In 2012 Wenger released a new PdG knife based on Evolution 14 model (1.14.09.302.PDG). The knife has black Evo handles, with ‘Patrouille des Glaciers’ and the PdG logo printed on the front scale. No markings on the blade.
Also Wenger RangerGrip 179 OHO model was available in 2011-2012 (the identifier is unknown, probably 1.077.179.823.PDG ?). The knife has green EvoGrip scales with black neoprene inserts. The main blade was marked with the lettering: PATROUILLE DES GLACIERS and the race logo.
More recently Victorinox has followed Wenger’s lead and produced knives for the race.
Discontinued models.
Models
Year/PdG: | PdG 1998 |
PdG 2000 |
PdG 2002 |
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Wenger Model: | ||||
Identifier: | 1.510.02 |
1.511.02.M |
1.512.02 |
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Image on Scale: |
Year/PdG: | PdG 2008 |
PdG 2010 |
PdG 2012 |
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Wenger Model: | ||||
Identifier: | 1.077.174.00.02 |
? |
1.014.009.302.PDG |
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Image on Scale: |
Images
External References:
- The Patrouille des Glaciers website
- The Patrouille des Glaciers page on the Swiss Armed Forces website
- The Patrouille des Glaciers SAKs discussion on Multitool.org forum.