The end of this month (May 2013) marks the 60th anniversary of the first successful ascent of Mount Everest and a leading body in safety research and technology is remembering the part it played in the famous expedition.
Northamptonshire-based SATRA said it received a request in 1952 from the British expedition to design, build and test a high-altitude boot for its planned assault on the world’s highest mountain the following year. The centre provided four prototype pairs, which were tested in the French Alps.
Weighing just 1.9 kilograms, SATRA says they were far lighter than rival designs. In all, 35 pairs of the chosen boot were put into production and 33 were taken on the expedition. The boots were manufactured by Upsons Ltd, of Kettering, and each pair was handmade to suit individual members of the team, both Europeans and Sherpas. (To find out more about the work and firms involved in the development and manufacture of the boots, click here.)
After the successful ascent by Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay on 29 May 1953, expedition leader John Hunt wrote to SATRA’s director of research, Harry Bradley, saying the boots were a great success and were worn by all members of the party above an altitude of 6100 metres. Unlike any previous Everest expedition, not one of the British team had suffered from frostbite in their feet.
SATRA continues to research and help develop footwear products for use in a
wide variety of applications throughout the world.
The photo ©SATRA shows Sir Edmund Hillary (centre) with members of the SATRA team at SATRA House in Kettering in 1953
