This winter, the world’s most iconic mountain town, Chamonix, celebrates the 100th anniversary of the Winter Olympics, which were first held in the shadow of Mont Blanc in 1924.
Before the historic event, the town was the world center of mountaineering; The allure of climbing some of Europe’s highest, toughest and most spectacular peaks had appealed to climbers, along with members of the British aristocracy and the Alps, for almost two centuries. It ranks first among the club numbers. Chamonix was also a popular destination for members of the Ski Club of Great Britain, led by Sir Henry Lunn, founder of the Lunn Poly travel company.
As snow and ice sports became more popular in the late 19th centuryThis In the 19th century, the International Olympic Committee was persuaded to create a winter version of the Olympics, and Chamonix was chosen as the first venue for the 11-day event.
They included cross-country skiing, figure and speed skating, ice hockey, Nordic combined (ski jumping and cross-country skiing), ski jumping, bobsleigh, curling and the military patrol, the forerunner of modern biathlon – perhaps surprisingly there were no downhill ski competitions, these were introduced in 1936 It wasn’t done until.
Hosting the event required a non-negligible expense, including building a ski jump, a 36,000-square-foot ice rink, and a bobsled run; The Mont aux Bossons ski jumping track is still in occasional use today, but the ice rink and bobsleigh track are long gone.
The Scandinavian countries were then as dominant as they are now, with Britain sitting sixth in the medal table; France finished ninth. The weather was also unpredictable like today; Shortly before the Games opened, more than 1.5 meters of snow fell in a single day, followed by a melting avalanche that blocked the local railway line and changed the Olympic route. ice rink on the lake. Luckily, the cold returned just in time for the opening ceremony, which was attended by 300 athletes from 16 countries and watched by 10,000 spectators.
The first Winter Olympics provided Chamonix with the perfect opportunity to market itself as a year-round destination; Until now tourists had largely visited only during the summer months, but in the coming decades the town and surrounding mountains would become one of the world’s largest winter tourism destinations. sports destinations.
The Brévent cable car was built in the Chamonix valley between 1928-30, followed by a series of ski lifts and, in 1955, the magnificent Aiguille du Midi Téléphérique, then the highest cable car in the world, rising to a breathtaking height of 3842 m. .
It has given climbers faster and easier access to the Mont Blanc massif, allowed skiers to descend the Vallée Blanche, a thrilling and spectacular 20-kilometre backcountry ski run down the Mer de Glace glacier, and given day-trippers the opportunity to see the magnificent mountains of Mont Blanc . Glacier Alpine landscape up close. Further up the valley is the Grands Montets ski area, opened in 1963, where some of the world’s most challenging freeride skiing can be accessed.
Chamonix has burst onto the scene with the annual tour of the FIS Alpine World Cup, multiple editions of the Kandahar Alpine Ski World Cup (the latest of which is scheduled for February 3-4) and more recently the World of Freeride tours. Type. The town’s influence on winter sports, particularly freeride, is well summed up by American ski legend Glen Plake, for whom Chamonix is his European base: “Whether it’s the history of mountaineering culture, the extravagant geography or access to it, Chamonix is a pilgrimage.”
This pilgrimage is undertaken by winter sports enthusiasts from around the world who want to challenge themselves on the region’s ski slopes; In addition, there are plenty of busy locals, resident Britons, Scandinavians, Americans and Australians, and many visitors from other countries. .
To cater to them, Chamonix offers everything from Michelin-starred restaurants to curry houses and burger bars, five-star hotels to bunkhouses, hipster bars to beer bars, and a variety of nightclubs and casinos. Access is easy thanks to a major road running under Mont Blanc into Italy and the aforementioned railway line connecting to Geneva, Paris and London.
But as a visit to Mer de Glace shows, Mont Blanc’s “eternal snows” are changing as rapidly as the town beneath it. In the last 140 years, the length of the glacier has retreated by 2 kilometers and its depth by 220 meters. In Edwardian times, visitors used the 5-kilometer Montenvers rack-and-pinion railway from Chamonix to reach the glacier from the platform at the 1,913-metre-high Refuge du Montenvers; However, in recent years, it was necessary to descend 550 steps to reach the glaciers. (You also have to climb them after skiing the Vallée Blanche – quite a challenge when your skis are slung over your shoulder).
A new gondola will replace the steps later this month; This is perhaps symbolic of how Chamonix is adapting to climate change. But it also makes you wonder if it might still be possible for the town to host the Winter Olympics, or any winter sports event, for another century…
Fundamentals
The Ski Club of Great Britain offers a Chamonix Off-Piste Adventure trip for intermediate skiers from £1,595 throughout February and March. The price includes seven nights of chalet accommodation, six nights of chalet accommodation and five days of mountain guides. Travel excluded.
The cost of visiting Mer de Glace via the Montenvers railway is 38.50 euros per adult; €32.70 per child (five to 14 years old).