One of the most famous and attractive mountain-resorts in the world, Chamonix has built a strong winter sports tradition by holding many major events in the past Century. In 1924, the first Winter Olympics took place in that beautiful valley dominated by the superb Mont Blanc summit, the highest peak in Europe (4807 m). The small yet colorful town located near Switzerland and Italy, became part of the legendary Arlberg-Kandahar tour during the 1950's. It also hosted the 1937 and the 1962 FIS Alpine World Championships, the only ones held in France. Several World Cup races took place on the famous "Verte des Houches" downhill course since 1968. It's a gutsy run with spectacular jumps and a final, steep and icy section part which demands courage and fine technique by the racers. In 1994, Norway's Kjetil Aamodt won his only downhill there. In 1997, Hermann Maier crashed and broke a hand there while racing in his first World Cup downhill. Many course and security improvements have been made in the past few years to keep the race on the World Cup calendar. It's also symbolic that the first men's World Cup race of the new Millenium is part of the legendary Arlberg-Kandahar Trophy, the most traditional "Classic" in alpine ski racing.