Is the small town of Courmayeur (1,224m. on the sea level) at the foot of Mont Blanc which with its 4,810 m. is the highest mountain of western Europe. This tourist resort, the most famous of the Italian Alps and an International off-piste skiing centre, boasts 100 km of slopes laid out as a balcony around the Massif of the Mont Blanc and 200 km of off-piste descents partly covered by cable-ways and partly by heliski. They are all Alpine Guides qualified to practice the profession in Italy and in the countries associated to U.I.A.G.M. (International Union of Mountain Guides Association). These Guides are members of the Alpine Guides Society of Courmayeur the, founded in 1850, is the oldest in Italy and the second in the world after that of Chamonix (founded in 1821). Courmayeur is the most representative institution of this small alpine town. The Society is made up of sixty-five Guides. Forty of them are active and at the disposal of clients who want to be accompanied on the most beautiful excursions, alpine and skiing itineraries of the Mont Blanc massif of surrounding territories. The Alpine Guides headquarters give hospitality to the Alpine Museum that collects many historic finds of the European and mountaineering world that the Guides have found during their expeditions throughout the world.