The Grand Ballon () or Great Belchen is the highest mountain of the

Vosges The Vosges ( , ; german: Vogesen ; Franconian and gsw, Vogese) are a range of low mountains in Eastern France, near its border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the border, they form a single ...

, located northwest of

Mulhouse Mulhouse (; Alsatian: or , ; ; meaning '' mill house'') is a city of the Haut-Rhin department, in the Grand Est region, eastern France, close to the Swiss and German borders. It is the largest city in Haut-Rhin and second largest in Alsace a ...

, France. It is also the highest point of the Grand-Est French region.

Name

Grand Ballon, naambordje foto3 2013-07-23 12

''Grand Ballon'' means "great ound-toppedmountain" because a ''ballon'' in French is a geographical term for a mountain with a rounded summit, similar to the German ''

Kuppe A ''Kuppe'' is the term used in German-speaking central Europe for a mountain or hill with a rounded summit that has no rock formation, such as a tor, on it. A range of such hills is called a ''Kuppengebirge''. In geology the term also refers to ...

''. Some still call it ''Ballon de Guebwiller'', after the name of the closest town,

Guebwiller Guebwiller (french: Guebwiller, ; Alsatian: ''Gàwiller'' ; ) is a commune in the Haut-Rhin department in Grand Est currently in north-eastern France. It was a sub-prefecture of the department until 2015. It is situated northwest of Mulhous ...

, located to the east. It is high.

Climate

According to the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

, the top of the Grand Ballon features a subalpine climate (

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...

: ''Dfc'') due to its high latitude compare to the

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Swi ...

or the

Pyrenees The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to ...

. Along with the Hohneck the summit of the Grand Ballon is the coldest and windiest point in Alsace. A record low of was recorded on 10 February 1956, a record high of was recorded on 13 August 2003. The difference between the Grand Ballon and the neighboring plain (

area) usually ranges from and is higher in summertime. Winter snow cover is usually more than above of altitude. The highest snow accumulation ever recorded was 7 March 2006; in 1969 and 1970 the snow cover was above .

Trails

The well known

Route des Crêtes Route des Crêtes ( en, Route of the Ridges) is an road in the Vosges Mountains in eastern France, which passes through the Parc Naturel Régional des Ballons des Vosges. It connects Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines (north) with Cernay (south) and runs o ...

( French for "route of the peaks") circumvents the mountain top around east, crossing a mountain pass at an altitude of , between Le Markstein winter sports station and Hartmannswillerkopf, a rocky spur.

Tour de France

The road over the pass to the north of the mountain is occasionally used in the

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...

, the first crossing being in 1969. It is the only ''Hors categorie'' (beyond categorization) climb in northern France.

Belchen System

The mountain is part of the so-called Belchen System, a group of mountains with the name "Belchen" (in German) that may have been part of a Celtic sun calendar.

World War I Monument

Near the

radar station Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, wea ...

air traffic control Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled airs ...

centre, there are two First World War (1914-1918) memorials called, Memorial Diables Bleus Grand Ballon, commemorating the French troops, in particular the

Chasseurs Alpins The ''chasseurs alpins'' ( en, Alpine Rangers) are the elite mountain infantry force of the French Army. They are trained to operate in mountainous terrain and in urban warfare. History France created its own mountain corps in the late 19th ...

, whose nickname is Les Diables Bleus (Eng: The Blue Devils), who fought there in World War I. The original single monument was erected in 1927 but was dynamited, by German troops, in July 1940 during World War II and rebuilt in 1960.

Gallery

File:Le radar au sommet du grand ballon. 2014-10-28.jpg, An

is located on the summit. Pano5

References

External links

Profile of climb
from Willer-sur-Thur.
Le Grand Ballon dans le Tour de France

Cycling up to Le Grand Ballon: data, profile, map, photos and description
Mountains of the Vosges One-thousanders of France Mountains of Haut-Rhin {{HautRhin-geo-stub