Everest expedition boot 'still works' 71 years on

The boots used by the 1953 Everest climb were oversized to have extra insulation

One of the boots used in the first expedition to reach the summit of Mount Everest "still works" 71 years after the achievement.

New Zealander Edmund Hillary and Nepali Sherpa Tenzing Norgay reached the "roof of the world" on 29 May 1953.

Their boots were made by the Shoe and Allied Trades Research Association (SATRA) in Kettering.

Tom Bayes, from SATRA, said the footwear was "probably the most important part because if you damage your feet there is no-one to help".

Sir Edmund Hillary sent a letter of thanks to SATRA and asked where the boots could be bought commercially

Hillary and Norgay stayed at the peak, which is 29,028 ft (8,847m) above sea level, for 15 minutes because they were low on oxygen.

News of their achievement did not reach the outside world until 2 June, the eve of the Queen's coronation, and Hillary was later knighted.

Mr Bayes said SATRA used several boot and shoe factories around Northamptonshire to design and make various parts of the boots.

He said: "Each member of the team [for the Everest climb] had their feet measured and the outline drawn around."

The association still has the original tracings from 1952, which were done in Kettering.

Sir Edmund Hilary (left) and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay (right) and expedition leader Colonel John Hunt (centre) had their boots made in Northamptonshire

One of the parts of the design was a removeable foot bed that "you can take out[to] dry", Mr Bayes said.

SATRA still has "a used boot" from the expedition, a size 12, which was Hillary's size, with crampon marks.

The boots were oversized, which Mr Bayes said was how they were designed.

He said: "You've got a foot [of the boot] shaped like an inner boot and that is allowing the insulation that's in that middle layer to stay lofted to ensure that they wouldn't get frostbite.

"But even after 70-odd years, the insulation is actually still puffed up, it still works."

Reflecting on the achievement, Mr Bayes said: "This was the highest anybody had been, the highest humans in the world."