Chamonix - History

Tourism has been popular in Chamonix since 18th Century.  In 1741 two English explorers William Windham and Richard Pocock discovered Montenvers (at the bottom of La Vallee Blanch and La Mer de Glace).  They enthusiastically documented their trip in Voyages aux Glaciers de Savoie) and the intrigue in going to such a place grew.  The mountains were at that time revered by all those who visited, but there was a desire to conquer them at the same time.  The terrain was troublesome; frequent avalanches, landslides and the glaciers made the area challenging and dangerous.  However determination to surmount the area over come these dangers for one man in-particular.  In 1760 Genevois Doctor Horacee Benedict de Saussure offered a prize to the first person to reach the summit of Mont Blanc which he had observed from the top of the Brevent.  This was not achieved until 1768 when 2 locals Dr Paccard and Jacques Balmat reached it.  Saussure himself then made it later that year and after that, many scientific expeditions followed.

The first hotel was opened in Chamonix in 1770 by Mme Coutterand.  It was called 'Hotel d'Andleterre' as the English outnumbered any other nation of visitors.   In those days, the journey took nine days, but tourists and sportsmen still traveled there, the area has become inspirational to sporting enthusiasts, mountains, painters and writers; most notably the Romantics Shelly and Biron. 

La Compagnie des Guides was also the founded in Chamonix; as the amount of people scaling Mont Blanc had increased dramatically and there was a major accident, the need was recognized to provide some sort of support to the guides and financial security to their families for the mountain guides bravery in risking their lives in the service of others.

By 1860, as part of an agreement for helping the Italians against the Austrians, the people of Savoie and Haute-Savoie regions voted overwhelmingly to rejoin France.  Access routs to the valley began to open up starting with the construction of an improved road from Geneva to Chamonix in preparation for Napoleon III and Empress Eugenie's visit in September 1860.

Between 1863 and 1865, more than 100 peaks were reached, mainly by the English.  However, the area now held fascination with scientists also.  In 1890 Joseph Vallot was permitted to build an observatory for high mountain studies, near the summit of the Mont Blanc, on the condition that it would also serve as a refuge for climbers as well. 

After the 1st World War, there followed a frenzied period of construction culminating in the nomination of Chamonix to host the first ever winter Olympics in 1924.  The number of cable cars in the area grew, with Planpraz and Le Brevent being complete by the early 1930's then the Flegere cable car 25 years later.

In 1953 an important project began, this was the Tunnel du Mont Blanc, which provided a link through to Italy.  This was not completed until 1965, but combined with the new Autoroute Blanche complete just before this Chamonix was now firmly established on the European road network.