Bally Celebrates Conquering Mt. Everest

Bally has kicked-off a yearlong celebration to mark the 60th anniversary of the historic first ascent of Mt. Everest in May 1953. When Sherpa Tenzing Norgay took his final steps to the top of the world on May 29, 1953 alongside Sir Edmund Hillary, he made that journey in a pair of Bally Reindeer-Himalaya boots, forever linking the Swiss brand to this momentous achievement. Today, Bally continues to embrace that pioneer spirit by pushing design boundaries and creating inspiring possibilities. Items from the original Everest expeditions, including an official replica of the boots worn by Tenzing housed in the Bally archive, provided the inspiration for the collection, aimed at capturing that trailblazing spirit. Until 1953, conquering Everest had remained an unachievable dream for mankind. Ever since Everest was first recognized as the world’s highest peak in 1852, mountaineers had dreamt of reaching the summit – but all had failed with lives lost in the process. It was eventually a British team led by Officer John Hunt that was to achieve the impossible, when two members of the group reached the summit on May 29, 1953: New Zealand bee-keeper and mountaineer, Sir Edmund Hillary, and a Nepali Sherpa, Tenzing Norgay. Hunt selected two climbing pairs to attempt to reach the summit, the first of which turned back 100m from the summit after running into oxygen problems. Two days later, the expedition made its second and final assault on the summit with alternate climbing pair, Hillary and Tenzing. Here, we take a look at the brands archives tied to their 60th anniversary f the Mt. Everest climb.