Mountain·France

Meije

3,983m

user:RobinL · CC BY-SA 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons

Elevation: 3,983m
Prominence: 821m
Isolation: 9.6km
Relief: 2,610mabove the lowest point within 5 km
Steepest slope: 76°within 1 km of the summit
Snow at the summit: All yearSee month by month ↓
Summit: 45.0044°N, 6.3122°E

Mountain in the Alps

Meije is a mountain in France. Its summit stands 3,983 m above sea level. Its prominence — how far it rises above the highest saddle linking it to a taller summit — is 821 m, and the nearest higher ground is 9.6 km away.

From the lowest point within 5 km (1,373 m), it rises 2,610 m. The steepest side is the north-west face: 46° on average over the first kilometre. In places the ground near the top reaches 76° — terrain for climbers, not walkers.

The nearest town is Mont-de-Lans, 15 km away at 1,269 m: 2,714 m below the summit.

Meije for skiers and climbers

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

9.8/10

Difficulty to the top

Alpine climb

Most path sections around the top are T4 on the SAC hiking scale. Glaciers around the top.

Indicative only — never a safety assessment. Conditions change: ask local guides and check the forecast.

2.5/2.521 waymarked routes and 119 path sections nearby
1.5/1.520 huts and shelters
2.0/22,714 m of ascent from the valley
1.3/1.5821 m of prominence
1.5/1.56 months with summit afternoons above −5 °C
1.0/1via ferratas, climbing and glaciers

Ski score

9.2/10

3.5/4142 km of downhill runs
1.2/1.532 ski lifts
1.5/1.51,696 m between the lowest and highest lift station
3.0/37 months of snow at about 2,348 m

Runs by difficulty

Beginner 3 km
Easy 74 km
Intermediate 17 km
Difficult 7 km
Expert 2 km
Freeride 39 km

Snow season on the slopes (estimate)

Around 2,348 m, in the middle of the ski area: snow from November to May (some years from October to May).

Snow on the ground all month
Snow some of the time
No snow
This month

32 lifts · lift stations from 1,500 to 3,196 m · 12 km cross-country

How these scores are made

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.

Plan your visit

Stay, climb and get there

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Snow

When there is snow on Meije

At the summit, snow all year round. Month by month below, at different heights on the way up.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Summit3,983 msnow all year round	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month
Halfway up2,626 msnow from October to June	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	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	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month
Mont-de-Lans1,269 msnow from December to March (some years from December to April)	Snow on the ground all month	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	Snow on the ground all month

Snow on the ground all month
Snow some of the time
No snow
This month

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

Meije, month by month

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 5 °C; on February nights it falls to about -25 °C. In 8 months of the year it stays below freezing at the top even in the afternoon. In July the 0 °C line climbs to about 4,690 m, above the summit: the top thaws on an average afternoon. Across the region, February is the driest month (54 mm) and May the wettest (90 mm).

0 °C on an average afternoon 0 °C at dawn the summit

Month	Summit high °C	Summit low °C	Mont-de-Lans high °C	0 °C line (m)	Rain & snow (mm)	Wet days	Sun h/day
January	-16	-25	1	1,490	69	11	4.0
February	-16	-25	2	1,570	54	10	4.6
March	-12	-20	6	2,120	67	11	5.4
April	-7	-16	11	2,920	61	13	5.9
May	-2	-12	15	3,610	90	16	6.6
June	2	-8	20	4,320	71	14	8.7
July	5	-6	22	4,690	58	11	9.5
August	5	-6	22	4,690	59	11	8.5
September	1	-10	18	4,090	59	11	7.1
October	-4	-14	14	3,380	75	12	5.2
November	-11	-18	7	2,340	88	13	3.5
December	-15	-23	3	1,710	79	12	3.5

Estimate: the NASA POWER climate of a ~55 km cell (average height 1,937 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

The mountain in profile

Two cuts through the summit, 16 km long, from the 30 m Copernicus elevation model. True scale: no vertical exaggeration.

West – east

South – north

Steepness by direction

Average slope of the first kilometre from the summit. The orange petal is the steepest side.

Around the mountain

Huts, lifts and trails around Meije

Counted around the summit in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit. The satellite plate shows 14 × 14 km.

A lift reaches Glaciers de la Meije II at 3,196 m — just 787 m below the summit.

20mountain huts and shelters
Refuge Évariste Chancel (2,508 m), Le Pas de l'Ane, Refuge du Glacier Blanc (2,542 m), Refuge de la Selle (2,673 m) and 16 more
5cable cars, gondolas, chairlifts and rack railways
Dôme Express, Glaciers de La Meije I, Signal, Glaciers de La Meije II and 1 more
3ski areas
Les Deux Alpes, La Grave, Le Chazelet
21waymarked hiking routes
Tour de l'Oisans et Écrins, Tour du Parc National des Écrins, Tour des Aiguilles d'Arves (étape 4), Le Sentier des Mules and 17 more
2via ferratas
Via Ferrata Les Mines du Grand Clôt, Via Ferrata de l'Arsine
13climbing crags and routes
École d'escalade Maye, Tête de la Maye : Pain Grillé, La Marre Maye, Belliou and 9 more
53named glaciers
Glacier de Mont-de-Lans, Glacier de la Meije, Glacier du Plaret, Glacier de la Gandolière and 49 more
43viewpoints
Aiguille Dibona, Col de Laurichard, Col du Bec, L'Âne and 39 more
5campsites
Camping Le Gravelotte, bivouac du glacier blanc, Camping Municipal d'Arsine, Camping GCU de Villar-d'Arène and 1 more
58hotels, B&Bs and chalets
Auberge de la Meije, Les Chalets de La Meije, Les Mélèzes, Chalet du Combeynot and 54 more
24restaurants and cafés

How hard are the paths?

119 path sections within 5 km, by SAC hiking scale (T1 easy walk … T6 difficult alpine).

T1T2T3T4T5T6

T1 hiking
T2 mountain hiking
T3 demanding mountain hiking
T4 alpine hiking
T5 demanding alpine hiking
T6 difficult alpine hiking

Towns at the foot

Mont-de-Lans15 km · 1,269 m
Les Deux Alpes15 km · 1,650 m
Le Monêtier-les-Bains16 km · 1,488 m
Valloire20 km · 1,404 m
Villeneuve21 km · 1,395 m
Huez22 km · 1,511 m
Le Bourg-d'Oisans22 km · 721 m
Saint-Chaffrey25 km · 1,354 m

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OpenStreetMap is built by volunteers: a low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet. Places © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).

Photos

Seen by climbers and visitors

Col du Lautaret en direction de la Meije (septembre 2024) — Florian Pépellin · CC BY-SA 4.0

Emparis- massif de la Meije depuis le lac Noir — Eusebius · CC BY 3.0

Recent years

How each month compared at the summit

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	-16	-16	-12	-7	-2	2	5	5	1	-4	-11	-15
2020	+1.7	+2.2	±0.0	+2.6	+1.9	−2.1	+0.6	+0.7	+0.5	−2.9	+3.0	−0.8
2021	−1.6	+2.4	+0.4	−1.3	−2.8	+0.6	−0.9	−0.9	+0.8	−0.2	±0.0	+1.2
2022	+1.1	+1.5	+1.9	+0.8	+3.0	+2.9	+4.5	+2.9	−0.6	+3.4	+1.2	+1.2
2023	+1.0	+4.9	+3.0	−0.8	+0.1	+0.7	+1.0	+1.3	+4.1	+2.9	−0.7	+1.5
2024	+2.4	+4.7	+2.3	−0.1	−0.8	−0.4	+1.5	+3.0	−1.9	+1.0	+2.1	+1.1
2025	+2.3	+3.2	+2.6	+2.4	+0.7	+4.0	+0.3	+2.3	+0.4	+0.2	+0.5	+2.9

+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual

Nearby

More mountains nearby

4,102 mBarre des Écrins

2,789 mGrande Tête de l'Obiou

France45 km away

3,697 mDent Parrachée

France47 km away

About these numbers

Names, elevation, prominence	Wikidata (Q1605356) · 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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