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Mont Blanc is the highest mountain in the Alps and the highest in Europe west of the Caucasus peaks of Russia and Georgia. It rises 4,808 m (15,774 ft) above sea level and is ranked 11th in the world in topographic prominence. The mountain stands in a range called the Graian Alps, between the regions of Aosta Valley, Italy, and Savoie and Haute-Savoie, France. The location of the summit is on the watershed line between the valleys of Ferret and Veny in Italy and the valleys of Montjoie, and Arve in France, in the middle of what is generally considered to be the border between the two countries.
The 1924 Winter Olympics, officially known as the I Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event which was held in 1924 in Chamonix, France. Originally held in association with the 1924 Summer Olympics, the sports competitions were held at the foot of Mont Blanc in Chamonix, and Haute-Savoie, France between January 25 and February 5, 1924. The Games were organized by the French Olympic Committee, and were originally reckoned as the "International Winter Sports Week." With the success of the event, it was retroactively designated by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as the I Olympic Winter Games.
The 1924 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the VIII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1924 in Paris, France.
Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, more commonly known as Chamonix, is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France. It was the site of the first Winter Olympics in 1924.
The French Alps are the portions of the Alps mountain range that stand within France, located in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur regions. While some of the ranges of the French Alps are entirely in France, others, such as the Mont Blanc massif, are shared with Switzerland and Italy.
ArgentièreFrench pronunciation: [aʁʒɑ̃tjɛʁ] is a picturesque skiing, alpine walking and mountaineering village in the French Alps, part of the commune of Chamonix Mont Blanc, at an altitude of 1,252 m (4,108 ft).
The Aiguille du Midi is a 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.
Courmayeur is a town and comune in northern Italy, in the autonomous region of Aosta Valley.
The Mont Blanc massif is a mountain range in the Alps, located mostly in France and Italy, but also straddling Switzerland at its northeastern end. It contains eleven major independent summits, each over 4,000 metres (13,123 ft) in height. It is named after Mont Blanc, the highest point in western Europe and the European Union. Because of its considerable overall altitude, a large proportion of the massif is covered by glaciers, which include the Mer de Glace and the Miage Glacier – the longest glaciers in France and Italy, respectively.
The Vallée Blanche Cable Car, , is a passenger cable car linking a mountain peak above Courmayeur (Italy) to a peak above Chamonix (France) by passing over the Mont Blanc massif, in the Alps. The engineering was developed by Vittorio Zignoli of Polytechnic University of Turin. No helicopters were used, and all the workers were chosen among locals and alpine guides. After a construction period of four years, it began service in 1958.
The Saint-Gervais-Vallorcine Line is a single-track 36.5 km (22.7 mi) long metre gauge railway in France connecting SNCF's Saint-Gervais-Le Fayet station with Vallorcine and the border with Switzerland through Chamonix. Opened in 1901 by the Chemins de fer de Paris à Lyon et à la Méditerranée, it is part of the main SNCF network as far as Vallorcine. To Le Châtelard is run by the Swiss company TMR, which also operates the Martigny–Châtelard railway).
The Aiguilles Rouges are a crystalline mountainous massif of the French Prealps, opposite the Mont Blanc Massif. The colour of the iron rich gneiss (metamorphique) mountains gives the range its name. The highest summit is the Aiguille du Belvédère at 2,965 metres (9,728 ft). At the southern end of the range, Le Brévent at 2,525 metres (8,284 ft) is accessible by a cable car in the Planpraz and the Brévent sections.
The Mt. Van Hoevenberg Olympic Bobsled Run is a venue for bobsleigh, luge and skeleton located at the Lake Placid Olympic Sports Complex in Lake Placid, New York, United States. This venue was used for the 1932 and 1980 Winter Olympics and for the only winter Goodwill Games in 2000. The third and most recent version of the track was completed in 2000 with the track hosting both the first FIBT World Championships and FIL World Luge Championships done outside of Europe, doing so in 1949 and 1983. In 2010 the bobsled track was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The La Plagne bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track is a bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track located in La Plagne, France. The track was the venue for the bobsleigh and luge competitions for the 1992 Winter Olympics whose host city was neighboring Albertville.
The Albert Premier Hut, sometimes known as Albert 1er is located on the Haute Route between Chamonix, France and Zermatt, Switzerland. It is at 2,702 metres (8,865 ft) above sea level. It is a popular hut with day hikers because of the short hike and beautiful views, like those into Chamonix Valley. The hut is usually used less by hikers attempting the entire Haute Route, but is popular as a base for climbers attempting the Aiguille du Chardonnet and the Aiguille du Tour.
Pointe Helbronner is a mountain in the Mont Blanc massif in the Graian Alps on the watershed between France and Italy.
The Cosmiques Hut is a mountain hut in the Mont Blanc massif in the French Alps at an altitude of 3,613 m. It is a large structure capable of accommodating 148 mountaineers. It was constructed in 1990 on a rock promontory situated between the Col du Midi and the base of the Cosmiques Arête which descends southwards from the Aiguille du Midi. It gives access to a number of classic alpine mountaineering routes, and has proved to be extremely popular with mountaineers, so much so that in the summer months prior booking a few days beforehand is essential in order to secure a bed. The Hut is wardened between mid-February and mid-October. In winter the nearby Abri Simond Hut is left unlocked, although this has no cooking facilities, heating or water.
The Torino Hut is a high mountain refuge in the Alps in northwestern Italy. Located near the border with France, it is about 15 km (10 mi) southwest of Mont Dolent, the tripoint with Switzerland. The refuge is in the Mont Blanc massif above the town of Courmayeur in the Aosta Valley, Italy. It can be most easily accessed from the Italian side by the Skyway Monte Bianco cable car from La Palud in Courmayeur, with a change at the Pavilion du Mont Fréty. It can also be reached from Chamonix via the Aiguille du Midi, either by cable car which crosses the massif, or by a long crossing of the Glacier du Gèant. The refuge lies nearly directly above the 11.6 km (7.2 mi) Mont Blanc Tunnel, which passes deep underground, and connects Courmayer to Chamonix.
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 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.
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1924 Olympic Games official report (combines Chamonix and Paris). Archived 2008-04-10 at the Wayback Machine pp. 652-3, 714-20. (in French) - accessed March 4, 2008.
- ↑ Also spelt: téléphérique
- ↑ Chamonix cross-country profile, featuring the Ligne du téléfrique de l'Aiguille du Midi aerial tramway at Argentière. Archived 2008-05-15 at the Wayback Machine (in French) - accessed March 4, 2008
- ↑ Chamonix ski maps Archived 2008-05-15 at the Wayback Machine (in French) - accessed March 4, 2008
