The Games were originally called Semaine Internationale des Sports d'Hiver ( `` International Winter Sports Week '' ) and were held as part of the 1924 Summer Olympics . It was later decided by the International Olympic Committee ( IOC ) that the Games would be called the I Olympic Winter Games . Originally called Semaine Internationale des Sports d'Hiver ( `` International Winter Sports Week '' ) and held in association with the 1924 Summer Olympics , the sports competitions held at the foot of Mont Blanc in Chamonix , Haute-Savoie , France between January 25 and February 5 , 1924 , organized by the French Olympic Committee , were in retrospect designated by the International Olympic Committee ( IOC ) as the I Olympic Winter Games .