Rémih · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Mountain
Ballon d'Alsace is a mountain in the Vosges Mountains (France). Its summit stands 1,247 m above sea level. Its prominence — how far it rises above the highest saddle linking it to a taller summit — is 520 m, and the nearest higher ground is 5.6 km away.
From the lowest point within 5 km (517 m), it rises 730 m. The steepest side is the south-east face: 28° on average over the first kilometre. In places the ground near the top reaches 42° — terrain for climbers, not walkers.
The nearest town is Saint-Maurice-sur-Moselle, 4 km away at 553 m: 694 m below the summit.
Scores
Two scores out of 10, built only from open data — every part is shown. They describe what the mountain offers, not how safe it is.
Hiking & mountaineering
8.1/10
Difficulty to the top
Hike
Most path sections around the top are T1 on the SAC hiking scale.
Indicative only — never a safety assessment. Conditions change: ask local guides and check the forecast.
Ski score
6.4/10
Runs by difficulty
Snow season on the slopes (estimate)
Around 1,053 m, in the middle of the ski area: snow from December to April (some years from November to April).
31 lifts · 7 km cross-country
Ski (where OpenStreetMap has skiing within 12 km): up to 4 points for the length of downhill runs (300 km or more = 4), 1.5 for the number of lifts (40+), 1.5 for the vertical between lift stations (1,500 m) and 3 for the snow season — a month counts when the estimated mean temperature at the height of the ski area is −1 °C or lower and snow falls or lies there (NASA POWER, 2001–2020). Hiking & mountaineering: up to 2.5 for waymarked routes and paths, 1.5 for huts, 2 for the ascent from the valley (2,000 m), 1.5 for prominence (3,000 m), 1.5 for the season (months with summit afternoons above −5 °C) and 1 for via ferratas, climbing and glaciers. OpenStreetMap is built by volunteers: where few things are mapped, a score can be lower than reality.
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Snow
At the summit, snow from November to April. Month by month below, at different heights on the way up.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Summit1,247 msnow from November to April | Snow on the ground all month | Snow on the ground all month | Snow on the ground all month | Snow on the ground all month | No snow | No snow | No snow | No snow | No snow | No snow | Snow on the ground all month | Snow on the ground all month |
Saint-Maurice-sur-Moselle553 msnow from January to February (some years from December to March) | Snow on the ground all month | Snow on the ground all month | Snow some of the time | No snow | No snow | No snow | No snow | No snow | No snow | No snow | No snow | Snow some of the time |
Estimate for a normal year: average temperature and precipitation from NASA POWER, carried to each height, in a simple model of snow building up and melting. In a given year snow can come earlier or stay longer. It does not replace the local snow and avalanche bulletin.
Summit weather
Not a forecast: long-term averages (1991–2020), carried up to the summit. The orange line is where an average afternoon reaches 0 °C; above the dashed blue line it freezes even at dawn.
On an average July afternoon the summit reaches about 19 °C; on January nights it falls to about -8 °C. In 3 months of the year it stays below freezing at the top even in the afternoon. In July the 0 °C line climbs to about 4,160 m, above the summit: the top thaws on an average afternoon. Across the region, April is the driest month (60 mm) and May the wettest (94 mm).
| Month | Summit high °C | Summit low °C | Saint-Maurice-sur-Moselle high °C | 0 °C line (m) | Rain & snow (mm) | Wet days | Sun h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | -2 | -8 | 2 | 910 | 78 | 13 | 1.7 |
| February | -1 | -8 | 4 | 1,110 | 63 | 12 | 2.9 |
| March | 4 | -5 | 8 | 1,860 | 69 | 12 | 4.7 |
| April | 9 | -2 | 14 | 2,630 | 60 | 12 | 6.5 |
| May | 13 | 3 | 17 | 3,220 | 94 | 15 | 6.9 |
| June | 17 | 6 | 22 | 3,860 | 83 | 14 | 8.1 |
| July | 19 | 8 | 23 | 4,160 | 78 | 14 | 7.9 |
| August | 18 | 8 | 23 | 4,100 | 85 | 13 | 7.0 |
| September | 14 | 4 | 19 | 3,480 | 67 | 11 | 6.1 |
| October | 9 | 0 | 14 | 2,660 | 84 | 13 | 3.8 |
| November | 3 | -4 | 7 | 1,660 | 78 | 14 | 1.8 |
| December | -2 | -7 | 3 | 1,020 | 90 | 15 | 1.3 |
Estimate: the NASA POWER climate of a ~55 km cell (average height 496 m), adjusted to the summit by −6.5 °C per 1,000 m. Rain, wet days and sunshine are those of the region. Mountain weather changes fast — always check a local forecast. ★ = mildest months at the top.
Relief
Two cuts through the summit, 16 km long, from the 30 m Copernicus elevation model. Heights drawn 3× taller than lengths, so the shape can be seen.
Average slope of the first kilometre from the summit. The orange petal is the steepest side.
Around the mountain
Counted around the summit in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit. The satellite plate shows 14 × 14 km.
N
5 km
Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 14 × 14 km, north up. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Abri du Sommerseite, Refuge de la Croix de Fresse, Chalet de la Conche (915 m), Chalet du Ski Club de Beaucourt and 30 more
Ballon d'Alsace, Bussang Larcenaire, Rouge Gazon, La Planche des Belles Filles and 5 more
GR 5 Vosges, Le Donon - Ballon d'Alsace, Des Vosges aux Pyrénées 01, Ballon d'Alsace - Perrancey-les-Vieux-Moulins, GR 533 Belfort-Sarrebourg, Chemin de la Moselle and 105 more
Via Ferrata La Source de la Moselle: Parcours 1, Via Ferrata La Source de la Moselle: Parcours 1 (variante facile), Via Ferrata La Source de la Moselle: Parcours 1 (variante assez difficile), Via Ferrata La Source de la Moselle: Echappatoire and 9 more
Site escalade de la Roche de l'Ours, Site d'Escalade du Lac d'Alfeld, Roche du Cerf and 2 more
Col des croix, Col des Perches, Planche des Belles Filles, Croix de Fresse and 85 more
Zeltplatz Manu, Aire De Stationnement Camping-car À Saint-maurice-sur-moselle, Le Clos Martin, Domaine de Champé and 6 more
Haut-Maehel, Auberge de la Petite Moselle, L'Auberge Alsacienne, Hôtel des Vosges and 55 more
179 path sections within 5 km, by SAC hiking scale (T1 easy walk … T6 difficult alpine).
OpenStreetMap is built by volunteers: a low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet. Places © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
Recent years
Afternoon high at the summit (estimate). The first row is the reference, the 1991–2020 average in °C; the years show only the difference.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991–2020 average | -2 | -1 | 4 | 9 | 13 | 17 | 19 | 18 | 14 | 9 | 3 | -2 |
| 2020 | +2.2 | +3.7 | +0.4 | +3.7 | +0.4 | −1.6 | +0.9 | +2.0 | +2.7 | −1.7 | +2.0 | +0.4 |
| 2021 | −1.1 | +3.1 | +0.1 | −2.2 | −3.6 | +1.1 | −2.0 | −2.5 | +1.4 | ±0.0 | −2.0 | +0.6 |
| 2022 | +0.3 | +2.6 | +2.8 | −0.8 | +2.7 | +3.0 | +4.2 | +4.7 | ±0.0 | +4.4 | +2.4 | +0.9 |
| 2023 | +1.6 | +2.4 | +1.1 | −1.7 | +1.0 | +4.1 | +2.1 | +1.7 | +6.1 | +3.7 | +0.1 | +2.0 |
| 2024 | +1.3 | +4.3 | +2.5 | −0.7 | −0.2 | −0.6 | +0.2 | +1.7 | −1.1 | +1.5 | +0.7 | +0.1 |
| 2025 | +1.7 | +1.3 | +2.1 | +1.6 | +1.0 | +3.2 | +0.3 | +2.4 | −1.0 | −0.4 | +0.4 | +2.2 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
| Names, elevation, prominence | Wikidata (Q1334057) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Relief, 3D view, profiles | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Climate | NASA POWER, 1991–2020 · CC BY 4.0 |
| Around the mountain | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
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