Students from the CE2, CM1, and CM2 classes at the Bossons school had the pleasure of visiting the former bobsleigh track in Chamonix-Mont-Blanc on Tuesday, April 8, 2025. The visit, guided by heritage expert Bernadette Tsuda, was highly engaging and informative for the young participants.
Built entirely with dry stone masonry for the 1924 Olympic Games, the track was designed to withstand the centrifugal force of bobsleighs reaching over 100 km/h. Its location was chosen for its proximity to the Aiguille du Midi aerial tramway, which notably facilitated the return of the bobs. This route was the fastest in the world at the time. Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the renovator of the Olympic Games, was among the spectators.
Several turns of the bobsleigh track, constructed from dry stone, have been renovated with the support of the Department of Haute-Savoie. This visit to an emblematic site served as an occasion to discuss the hosting of the 1st Winter Olympic Games in Chamonix-Mont-Blanc and to preserve its memory.
As a reminder, Saturday, March 16, 2024, marked the centenary of the first Winter Olympic Games held in Chamonix-Mont-Blanc in 1924. On that occasion, the Olympic rings were unveiled at the site of the former ice rink, in the presence of Mr. Thomas Bach, President of the International Olympic Committee, Ms. Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, Minister of Sports, the Olympic and Paralympic Games, and H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco, a former bobsledder. He himself had benefited from Ms. Tsuda's insightful explanations during his visit to the former bobsleigh track site, where he had met two children, Sofia and Liza-Maria, from Les Pèlerins d’en haut, with whom he posed for a touching and unexpected photo.
