Europe’s highest motorcycle meeting.

It takes place since 1967 on the second Sunday in July near the Italian town of Bardonecchia in Piedmont and leads to the 2996 m high Col de Sommeiller.

Part of the philosophy of the meeting is that the only thing that counts is a shared interest in motorcycling and enthusiasm for the beauty of the alpine mountains. Access is free for everyone, regardless of the type or brand of motorcycle, from the light off-road machine to the heavy Harley-Davidson, everything can be found. There are no competitions, no organizers, prizes or trophies.

History

The founder of the Stella Alpina is the Briton Harry W. Louis, editor-in-chief of “The Motor Cycle” magazine. In 1964 he met the enduro and trial rider Mario Artusio on an alpine tour and explored some small gravel roads with him in the Italian-French Alps. A year later the two met again in Piedmont and the idea of ​​an international alpine motorcycle meeting arose.

The first meeting took place a year later on July 24, 1966 and was organized as a trip from Bormio to the 2,757 m high Stilfser Joch. Over 200 motorcyclists from nine countries took part in the meeting. Drivers from Australia and New Zealand were also represented.

Since the second meeting on July 9, 1967, the Stella Alpina has been taking place near Bardonecchia in Piedmont.

At the eighth meeting on July 8, 1973, over 1000 participants were registered for the first time, a number that has only grown slightly since then.

For many years the meeting point has been the high alpine pastures at the Rifugio Scarfiotti or in the high valley of Rochemolles, where there is also the possibility of (free) camping. In Bardonécchia there is / was an organization office in Piazza Europa where you can officially register as a participant.

How to be part of the Stella?

Most participants will on Friday on the camp ground in front of the Refugio Scarfiotti. On the Weekend of the meeting, the aim is to reach the high plateau of the Col de Sommeiller at an altitude of 3009 m via approx. 11 km of gravel roads and 40 hairpin bends. This is not possible every year, as even in midsummer there is often still snow at this altitude. The route is considered to be one of the easier of the legally skiable slopes in the Alps. Since 2008, this route has been closed to all vehicles on weekends from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., so that the Rifugio Scarfiotti is the legally passable end point. The municipality has lifted the restriction since 2008 during the meeting.

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*Disclaimer:
The GPX file provided is free of charge, without warranty of any kind and might contain faults, defects and errors. Using these files for your navigation is at your own risk and responsibility. Before riding these trails you have to clarify the legal drivability of these tracks with the local authorities.