Chamonix-Mont-Blanc or, more commonly, Chamonix is a commune in the Haute-Savoie département in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France. It was the site of the first Winter Olympics in 1924. The commune's population of around 9,800 ranks 865th within the country of France.

Ultra- trailers compete at sunrise on September 2, 2017 in Courmayeur, Italy, during the 15 th edition of the Mount Blanc Ultra Trail (UTMB), a 170 km race around the Mont Blanc crossing France, Italy and Switzerland. The 15 th Ultra- Trail du Mont- Blanc (UTMB) is a mountain ultramarathon with numerous passages in high altitude (>2500 m) and in difficult weather conditions (night, wind, cold, rain or snow). (Photo by Jeff Pachoud/AFP Photo)

During the feudal times, the society was very structured where everyone knew their place. Fishermen knew that they would always have to bend their knee for highborn ladies and gentlemen, while the latter considered themselves to be far too superior to even look at the common folk. Mont Saint-Michel is a living memorial of those times. Its structural composition clearly reflects the structure of feudal society: The monastery and abbey were built on the highest point; housing and stores were built some distance below; finally, fishermen’s and farmer’s houses were constructed, not even being within the city walls, making them the most vulnerable to the possible attack.

Fred Fugen seen training for a jump over Austria on May 12, 2014. Fearless skydivers jump from an altitude of 10,000 meters above the largest mountain in Europe. Frederic Fugen, 34, and Vincent Reffet, 29, leapt from a plane in the freezing skies above Mont-Blanc in the French Alps. The jump is from such a height the pictures show the curvature of the earth. (Photo by Dominique Daher/Barcroft Media)

Doesn’t taking a nap in a hammock outdoors sound lovely? Perhaps not when you’re hanging in the air, thousands of feet above ground, between two mountains in the Italian Alps! Which is exactly what these adventurous folks did during the International Highline Meeting in Monte Piana, Italy. (Photo by Sebastian Wahlhuetter Photography)

Norwegian tennis player Jenny Stray Spetalen arrives for the screening of the film “Le Comte de Monte-Cristo” (The Count of Monte-Cristo) at the 77th edition of the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, southern France, on May 22, 2024. (Photo by Yara Nardi/Reuters)

Member of Unifrance delegation Swiss actress Souheila Yacoub arrives for the screening of the film “Le Comte de Monte-Cristo” (The Count of Monte-Cristo) at the 77th edition of the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, southern France, on May 22, 2024. (Photo by Loic Venance/AFP Photo)

A swimmer competes in Le Defi Monte-Cristo (Monte Cristo Challenge) swimming event at the Chateau d'If, off the coast of Marseille, southern France, on June 21, 2019. Created in 1999 and inspired by Alexandre Dumas' character of Edmond Dantes, the Monte Cristo Challenge will take place from June 21 to 23, 2019. (Photo by Boris Horvat/AFP Photo)