The Col du Grand Ballon (elevation ) is a mountain pass situated close to the summit of the

Grand Ballon The Grand Ballon () or Great Belchen is the highest mountain of the Vosges, located northwest of Mulhouse, France. It is also the highest point of the Grand-Est French region. Name ''Grand Ballon'' means "great ound-toppedmountain" because ...

() in the

Vosges Mountains 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 ...

of France. It connects Cernay (

Haut-Rhin Haut-Rhin (, ; Alsatian: ''Owerelsàss'' or '; german: Oberelsass, ) is a department in the Grand Est region of France, bordering both Germany and Switzerland. It is named after the river Rhine. Its name means ''Upper Rhine''. Haut-Rhin is th ...

) with

Le Markstein Le Markstein is a winter sports station in the Vosges mountains in France situated at an altitude of between and which is located on the Route des Crêtes. It forms a set of cross-country skiing with the Breitfirst ski-station and the Grand Ballo ...

winter sports station.

Details of the climbs

There are several different directions from which the Col du Grand Ballon can be climbed: From Cernay (south-east), the total distance is at an average gradient of 4.5%, gaining in height. This route follows the

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 ...

over the Col de Herrenfluh () after . After a short descent, the road climbs again to the Col de Silberloch () before descending to the Col Amic (). From here, there remain at an average of 7.6%. In the forest on this final section, there are two short

paved Pavement may refer to: * Pavement (architecture), an outdoor floor or superficial surface covering * Road surface, the durable surfacing of roads and walkways ** Asphalt concrete, a common form of road surface * Sidewalk or pavement, a walkway ...

stretches. from the summit, the gradient increases to over 8%. From Willer-sur-Thur (south), the ascent (via D138) is long, climbing at an average of 6.1%. This route joins that from Cernay at the Col Amic. From the south it is also possible to climb on minor roads from

Saint-Amarin Saint-Amarin (; ; gsw-FR, Sàntàmàrì) is a commune in the Haut-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. Geography Saint-Amarin territory tops in the Storkenkopf (1366 m). IGN maps available oGéoportail/ref> See also ...

or Moosch, both on the N66; these routes join together at

Geishouse Geishouse (; german: Geishausen; gsw-FR, Gaishüse) is a commune in the Haut-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. Geography Climate Geishouse has a oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification ''Cfb''). The average annual ...

. Both routes are approximately long at an average of over 7%, with a kilometre section near the summit at 12%. From Soultz (east), the route follows a minor road for the first at a steady average gradient of 4.6%, before joining the other routes at Col Amic. In total, the climb is long, climbing at an average of 5.6%. From Kruth (west), the climb (via D27) is long gaining 853 m in height at an average of 3.7%. This climb joins the D431 at

Tour de France

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 ...

first crossed over the Col du Grand Ballon in

1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

, when the leader over the summit was

Lucien Van Impe Lucien Van Impe (; born 20 October 1946) is a Belgians, Belgian cyclist, who competed professionally between 1969 and 1987. He excelled mainly as a climbing specialist, climber in multiple-day races such as the Tour de France. He was the winner ...

. It has been crossed on a further six occasions, the most recent in

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

Tour de France Femmes

The col was crossed on Stage 7 of the

2022 Tour de France Femmes The 2022 Tour de France Femmes (officially Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift) was the first edition of the Tour de France Femmes, one of women's cycling's two grand tours. The race took place from 24 to 31 July 2022, and was the 16th event in th ...

Amateur cycling

The Col du Grand Ballon is also used by amateur cyclists on the "Trois Ballons" sportive ride held in June (together with the climbs over the

Ballon d'Alsace The Ballon d'Alsace german: Elsässer Belchen (el. 1247 m.), sometimes also called the Alsatian Belchen to distinguish it from other mountains named " Belchen" is a mountain at the border of Alsace, Lorraine, and Franche-Comté. From its top, vi ...

and the

Ballon de Servance Ballon may refer to: Places * Ballon, County Carlow (''Balana'' in Irish), a village in Ireland *Grand Ballon, the apex of the Vosges Mountains in France *Ballon, Charente-Maritime, France *Ballon, Sarthe, France Others * Ballon (ballet), the ap ...

References

External links

Col du Grand Ballon on Google Maps (Tour de France classic climbs)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grand Ballon, Col du Mountain passes of Grand Est Transport in Grand Est