History of Chamonix

History of Chamonix

Alpinism, or mountaineering, was invented in Chamonix in 1760 by a swiss naturist called Horace Benedict de Saussure. His challenge to anyone willing to attempt it, was to climb Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in Europe with it's peak at 4,808m / 15,774 ft. Until then, no-one had thought of climbing mountains for fun. The challenge was finally accomplished 26 years later in 1786, by Jacques Balmat & Dr Paccard. A statue celebrating their success stands in Place Balmat in the centre of Chamonix today.

Alpinism became hugely popular amongst the victorian middle-classes in England and across Europe, with Compagnie des Guides de Chamonix being formed in 1821 and the first ever winter Olympics being held here in 1924. Today, Chamonix has around 10,000 permanent inhabitants, with a further 30,000 visiting in the winter, and 60,000 people in resort during the summer months, and has around 5 million visitors per year.

Situated at 45°55′8″N, 6°51′55″E, Chamonix is an hour's drive from Geneva, and the Chamonix valley runs from northeast to southwest, with Mont Blanc (4,808m) towering over the southeast, and Le Brevent (2525m) on the northwest.

The valley is made up of a number of hamlets including  Le Tour (1,462m) at the top of the valley, through to Argentiere (1,252m), Les Praz (1,060m), Chamonix (1,035m), Les Bossons (1,12m)  & Les Houches (796m). The valley is connected to Martigny in Switzerland via the Col de Montets (1,461m). Chamonix is an hour drive from the Swiss ski resort of Verbier and 30 minutes through the Mont Blanc tunnel to the Italian ski resort of Courmayeur.

Interesting Facts

Not just famous for Mont Blanc, Chamonix features in many guises.

• The author of Frankenstein, Mary Shelley, spent time in the area with Lord Byron, and is mentioned in the book in a scene of an encounter between the monster and the doctor.
• On the subject of Shelley and Byron a book called 'Cham' written Jonathan Trigell is also worth reading
• Chamonix is a snow track on Sony's Gran Turismo driving game
• It is twinned with Davos in Switzerland and Aspen in Colorado
• James Salter's novel "Solo Faces", based on the life of climber Gary Hemming is set in Chamonix.
• The parent's of Ian Fleming, author of the James Bond books are reported to have died here in a climbing accident, and the ski scenes from The World is not enough were filmed in Chamonix.

Our services

As guests of Chamonix all Year, we aim to make your holiday as enjoyable as possible.  We have selected various mountain partners to help you get the most from your holiday, and where possible have negotiated discounts for guests. You can click on the navigation bar at the top to view winter and summer activities in more detail. Or simply click on the links below:

- Chamonix in Winter
- Chamonix in the Summer

If there is anything we have missed or you would like to know more about please get in touch with us relax@chamonixallyear.com and we will be happy to help you.