The Piste de Bobsleigh des Pellerins (Pellerins Bobsleigh Track in (in French)) was a bobsleigh track constructed for the 1924 Winter Olympics in Chamonix, France. [1]
The Piste de Bobsleigh des Pellerins (Pellerins Bobsleigh Track in (in French)) was a bobsleigh track constructed for the 1924 Winter Olympics in Chamonix, France. [1]
The track was 1369.88 metres long with 19 curves and an elevation difference of 156.29 metres. [1] Turns 1-2, 4-6, 8, 10, 12, and 14 have no names attached to them. [1] Average grade for the track was 11.4%. [1]
| Turn Number | Name | Reason named |
|---|---|---|
| 3. | Les Myrtilles | "The Bilberries" in French. |
| 7. | Les Pouteretz | "The Beans" in French. |
| 9. | Place Verte | "Sharp green place" in French |
| 11. | L'Eau Noire | "Black water" in French |
| 13. | J. Balmat | After Jacques Balmat, an Italian mountain climber who completed the first successful ascent of Mont Blanc in 1786 with fellow Italian Michel-Gabriel Paccard. |
| 15. | Les Écureuils | "The Squirrels" in French |
| 16. | Le Pylône | "The Mast" or "The Pylon" in French. |
| 17., 18. | Tournants du Téléférique [2] | "Aerial tramway" turning point in French. The track was located near the Ligne du téléférique de l'Aiguille du Midi which transported the bobsleighs from the bottom of the mountain to the top of the track 156.29 metres above. |
| 19. | Arrivée | "Arrival" or "Finish" curve in French |
During the bobsleigh competitions, a total of nine teams from five countries competed. [1] Two teams withdrew after the first run while another team withdrew after the third run. [1] The three medalist teams were from Switzerland (gold), Great Britain (silver), and Belgium (bronze). [1] Bobsleigh speeds reached up to 115 km/h (71.5 mph) during competition. [1]
The track is no longer in use. It was located near the Ligne du téléférique de l'Aiguille du Midi aerial tramway area, near the village of Les Pèlerins. [3] [4]
Mont Blanc is the highest mountain in the Alps and Western Europe, and the highest mountain in Europe outside the Caucasus Mountains, rising 4,805.59 m (15,766 ft) above sea level, located on the Franco-Italian border. It is the second-most prominent mountain in Europe, after Mount Elbrus, and the 11th most prominent mountain in the world.
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The 1924 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the VIII Olympiad and officially branded as Paris 1924, were an international multi-sport event held in Paris, France. The opening ceremony was held on 5 July, but some competitions had already started on 4 May. The Games were the second to be hosted by Paris, making it the first city to host the Olympics twice.
Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, more commonly known simply as Chamonix (Chamôni), is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Southeastern France. It was the site of the first Winter Olympics, held in 1924.
The Aiguille du Midi is a 3,842-metre-tall (12,605 ft) mountain in the Mont Blanc massif within the French Alps. It is a popular tourist destination and can be directly accessed by cable car from Chamonix that takes visitors close to Mont Blanc.
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For the 1924 Winter Olympics in Chamonix, France, a total of three sports venues were used. The main stadium was used for all but two sports and part of a third. It was the first ski jump used for the Winter Olympics. A bobsleigh track was prepared for use.
For the 1932 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York, United States, a total of five sports venues were used. This was unchanged from the previous games in St. Moritz. For the first time in the history of the Winter Olympics, an indoor venue was used for the figure skating and six of the twelve ice hockey events at the Olympic Arena. The first bobsleigh venue outside Europe was constructed for use. Four different 18 km and five different 50 km venues were submitted for approval prior to the Olympics. After the 1932 games, three of these venues served as host for their respective championships that were held outside Europe for the first time.
For the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble, France, a total of ten sports venues were used. Most venues were constructed between the 1964 Winter Games in Innsbruck and the 1968 Games. Thawing was an issue for the four-man bobsleigh run. They were limited to only two runs. Thawing also affected the men's 500 m speed skating event. Electronic timing in alpine skiing affected the results of the women's giant slalom event. It gave Canada's Nancy Greene a headache for two days despite her gold medal in the event.
For the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria, a total of eight sports venues were used. The games were originally awarded to Denver, Colorado in the United States in 1970, but they withdrew in the wake of Colorado residents voting against it for environmental and cost reasons in November 1972. This led to the International Olympic Committee opening up the bids for the games again, eventually awarding them to Innsbruck in February 1973. The Austrian city, having hosted the Winter Olympics in 1964, was in the process of having the venues used for those Games before Denver's with clear cutting of the alpine skiing venues, lessening of the amount of cross-country skiing routes, upgrading the ski jumps, adding lighting in the indoor sports arena to accommodate color television, and the construction of a combination bobsleigh and luge track. After the 1976 Games, the venues have remained in use, hosting events in Nordic skiing and the sliding sports. They hosted some of the events for the Winter Universiade in 2005 and seven of the eight venues served as host for the first Winter Youth Olympic Games in 2012.
