Grand Ballon




Not to be confused with the Ballon d'Alsace.









































Grand Ballon

Grandballonsud.jpg
The Grand Ballon from the south

Highest point
Elevation 1,424 m (4,672 ft)
Prominence 1,072 m (3,517 ft)
Coordinates
47°54′03″N 7°05′53″E / 47.90083°N 7.09806°E / 47.90083; 7.09806Coordinates: 47°54′03″N 7°05′53″E / 47.90083°N 7.09806°E / 47.90083; 7.09806 
Naming
English translation Great mountain
Language of name French
Geography



Grand Ballon is located in France

Grand Ballon

Grand Ballon



France


Location
Haut-Rhin, Grand-Est, France
Parent range Vosges Mountains
Climbing
First ascent unknown

The Grand Ballon (German: Großer Belchen) or Great Belchen[1][2] is the highest mountain of the Vosges, located 25 kilometres (16 mi) northwest of Mulhouse, France. It is also the highest point of the Grand-Est French region.[3]




Contents






  • 1 Name


  • 2 Climate


  • 3 Trails


  • 4 Tour de France


  • 5 Belchen System


  • 6 Gallery


  • 7 See also


  • 8 References


  • 9 External links





Name




Grand Ballon, name sign


Grand Ballon means "great [round-topped] mountain" because a ballon in French is a geographical term for a mountain with a rounded summit.


Some still call it Ballon de Guebwiller, after the name of the closest town, Guebwiller, located 8 km (5 mi) to the east. It is 1,423.7 metres (4,671 ft) high.[4]




Climate


According Köppen climate classification, the top of the Grand Ballon features a subarctic climate (Dfc), due to its altitude, 1424m above sea level. Winters are long, snowy and very cold. Summers are cool, with some mild days, especially in July. From 1400 to 900m the climate is subarctic. From 900 to 400, the climate is continental (with warm summers) (Dfb), and then, from 400m to 250m (plain), the climate is continental (with hot summers) (Dfa). Along with the Hohneck the summit of the Grand Ballon is the coldest and windiest point in Alsace. A record low of −30.2 °C (−22.4 °F) was recorded on 10 February 1956, a record high of 29 °C (84 °F) was recorded on 13 August 2003. The difference between the Grand Ballon and the neighboring plain (Mulhouse area) usually ranges from 7 to 10 °C (13 to 18 °F) and is higher in summertime. Winter snow cover is usually more than 1.5 m (5 ft) above 1,350 m (4,430 ft) of altitude. The highest snow accumulation ever recorded was 3.7 m (12 ft) 7 March 2006; in 1969 and 1970 the snow cover was above 3 m (10 ft).[5].



Trails


The well known Route des Crêtes (French for "route of the peaks") circumvents the mountain top around east, crossing a mountain pass at an altitude of 1,343 m (4,406 ft), 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 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.[6]



Gallery






  • An air traffic control radar station is located on the summit.







360° panorama from the summit - 14 January 2005




360° panorama from the summit - 7 January 2006



See also


  • Ballon d'Alsace


References





  1. ^ Chevrier, Jean-François. From Basel - Herzog & de Meuron, Basel: Birkhäuser, 2016, p. 54.


  2. ^ Herz, J.H. Guide Through Germany, Austria-Hungary, Switzerland, Italy, France, Belgium, Holland, the United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal, &c: Souvenir of the Hamburg-American Line. Germany: Hamburg-Amerikanische Packetfahrt-Actien-Gesellschaft, 1907, p. 284.


  3. ^ France Region High Points, web-page on www.peakbagger.com


  4. ^ According to the Institut Géographique National (IGN)


  5. ^ Joly, Daniel; Brossard, Thierry; Cardot, Hervé; Cavailhes, Jean (2010-06-18), Les types de climats en France, une construction spatiale (in French), Cybergeo, doi:10.4000/cybergeo.23155, ISSN 1278-3366, retrieved 2018-08-18.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}


  6. ^ Chevrier, Jean-François. From Basel - Herzog & de Meuron, Basel: Birkhäuser, 2016, p. 52.




External links








  • Profile of climb from Willer-sur-Thur.


  • Le Grand Ballon dans le Tour de France (in French)

  • Cycling up to Le Grand Ballon: data, profile, map, photos and description











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