When in 1741 Windham and Pococke discovered the 'Chamouny' valley and its glaciers, their expedition was confronted by a rural population of mountain people living essentially by animal rearing and sparse harvests of oats and rye. A population which was however, welcoming and helpful in providing the necessary mountain guides to take them to the Mer de Glace (The Sea of Ice). The recital of their exploits, published in all the literary journals throughout Europe, started the craze to find out more about Chamonix. The first guest house, that of Mrs Coutterand, was opened in 1770. In 1783, after visits from celebrities such as Saussure, Goethe and Bourrit, who made Chamonix famous, around 1500 visiters were coming to Chamonix each summer. At the initiative of a scientist called Saussure, two local men Paccard and Balmat, made the first ever ascent of Mont-Blanc in 1786, thus penetrating its mistifying legend of being a bedevilled and ill-fated mountain range. The international scene, dominated notably by the English, now made Chamonix famous. The first luxury hotel was built in 1816 (The Hotel de l'Union), followed by 'la Couronne', 'le Royal' and many more (in 1855 there was a terrible fire. Chamonix had at that time 9 hotels). In 1821, 'La Compagnie des Guides' was created following an accident on Mont-Blanc. From 1852, Albert Smith organized, during several years in London, a canvas exhibition of his ascent of Mont-Blanc. Artists, painters and writers now contributed to the celebrity of the valley. In 1860, the region of the Savoie was re-united with France. Napoleon III came to Chamonix on a visit to his newly aquired region and conscious of the interest in the location, had built a carriage road joining Geneva to Chamonix via Sallanches. At this point in time the religious local community became a market town and Chamonix benefited from an international reputation. This in turn, started the golden age of mountaineering and famous ascents. English, French and Swiss competed against each other to climb every possible peak. Mountain huts and refuges therefore had to be built. Edward Whymper launched himself into the assault of the Chamonix 'Aiguilles' (Needles). Until the end of the 19th century, the mountain guides were the main economic power in Chamonix. However, from the beginning of the 20th century with the construction of numerous hotels, the hoteliers become the foremost economic power in the valley. In July 1901, Chamonix inaugurated its railway line thus freeing the town in winter. An ice-rink of unrivalled existence, was built in 1905. Ski-ing, introduced into Chamonix at the end of the 19th century by Dr Payot, revealed another hidden glory. The first big winter season was in 1906-07, partly due to the initiative of the 'Club Alpine Français' who organized a local winter sports competition. During the years 1908-10, Chamonix was transfigured into its present rhythm of winter and summer seasons. From then on the mountains were transformed forever and the first custom built tourist attractions were installed : The Montenvers railway in 1908 ; the cable-car 'des glaciers' in 1924 ; the Planpraz cable-car in 1927 ; the Brevent cable-car in 1930 ; the 'Aiguille du Midi' cable-car in 1955 and finally the Flégère cable-car in 1956. It was in 1924 that the ultimate accolade is bestowed upon Chamonix : the first ever Winter Olympic Games. Since then, and to this day, Chamonix is still the world capital of ski-ing and mountaineering.