The ski area
La Mauselaine has around twenty pistes between 750 and 1,130 metres, served by some fifteen lifts. The area mixes green and blue runs ideal for learning with a few more demanding reds higher up. La Rayée, two kilometres long, is one of the finest descents in the Vosges.
Night skiing
This is Gérardmer's signature: several evenings a week, part of the area is floodlit until 9 pm. Skiing under the lights with the town glittering below is something else entirely — and the chalet is a three-minute walk away to warm up afterwards.
Beginners, children and other snow sports
The ESF ski school runs group and private lessons, and a snow garden welcomes children from the age of three. Beyond alpine skiing, the resort has a dedicated toboggan run, snowshoe trails and 40 kilometres of cross-country tracks on the neighbouring plateau. Equipment can be hired at the foot of the slopes.
And if there is no snow?
The Vosges are a mid-altitude range, so snow cover varies from year to year. La Mauselaine has snowmaking on its main runs, and the higher, larger La Bresse-Hohneck area takes over 25 minutes away. The season usually runs from late December to early March.
Where Vosges skiing began
Skiing did not arrive here by chance: the first ski lift in the Vosges massif opened at the Col de la Schlucht in February 1937, and the first French ski school was founded there in 1949 by Jean-Marie Leduc. Gérardmer was already skiing when most Alpine resorts did not yet exist. La Mauselaine follows in that line — a local resort, built for learning and for skiing after work, rather than for racking up vertical drop.
Planning your day from the chalet
The area runs between 750 and 1,137 metres, the latter being the Tête de Grouvelin, the highest point of the commune. In practice: you put your boots on at the chalet, walk the 250 metres down to the first lifts, and the ski room saves you carrying gear around. On busy days — February half-term, snowy weekends — it pays to be on the slopes early, as afternoons are fuller. And if snow is short lower down, the top of the area and La Bresse-Hohneck, 25 minutes away, usually hold better.
