Stelvio track: between history and legend
Discover the adrenaline rush of one of the world’s most challenging and iconic tracks,
the scene of unforgettable triumphs
Every skier knows that feeling. That urge to find a slope that is not just snow and turns, but a real physical and mental test.
The Stelvio is exactly that. A place where the mountain is uncompromising: it keeps you engaged and wants you on the piece all the way.
From the start, at 2,268 meters, to the finish at 1,245 meters, that’s 1,023 meters of elevation gain for a breathtaking descent that gives no respite, including schusses, diagonals and jumps on a course that has seen the world’s greatest downhill ski champions compete!
Are you ready to dive into the history and excitement of the Stelvio Track?
Technique, intuition and love for the mountains:
this is what the Stelvio Slope was born from.
Surely you remember the great Oreste Peccedi as the coach of the Valanga Azzurra during the golden years of the Italian national men’s alpine ski team (between 1968 and 1976), but you may not know that it is to him that Bormio owes the Pista Stelvio!
It was the early 1980s when the World Championships Committee asked Oreste to design a new downhill slope in Bormio.
Orestes’ aspiration to leave his hometown with a timeless calling card of international renown prompted him to ask for carte blanche and accept the invitation in order to bring to life one of the most spectacular and technical tracks in the world.
To translate this feat into reality he involved two people he held in high esteem: Aldo Anzi and Oliviero Confortola whose contributions were decisive to the success of the project: the former because of his technical expertise and the latter because of his intuition to devise the Bormio 3000 facilities.
Having examined the terrain, identified the ideal course and taken into account the requirement that the slope be suitable not only for downhill but also for super-G and slalom, work began on the creation of the slope, mostly taking advantage of the conformation of the mountain.
In addition to the changes in width and safety to fulfill the parameters dictated by FISI, the design of the Stelvio included one impactful intervention: at the height of La Konta, a small relief was smoothed out to make the course smooth on the slope’s finish.
In 1982 the Stelvio Racetrack was opened for the first edition of the World Series.
It was later chosen to host the 1985 and 2005 World Cup Alpine Skiing Championships, as well as the 1995 and 2008 World Cup Finals. In addition, it has been the star and setting of the men’s World Cup downhill since 1993.
Even today, its course is among the three top-rated downhill slopes in the world, along with Kitzbüel’s Streif and Wengen’s Lauberhorn.
The name Pista Stelvio is strongly associated with Bormio. When the three designers Peccedi, Anzi, and Confortola chose what to call it, they had no doubts: it had to be Stelvio because the territory of Bormio is part of the Stelvio National Park and because the Glacier of the same name was already well known and in vogue for skiing, the summer kind.
See all the major dates in history
The stage of the great champions of alpine skiing
“The slopes, the curves, the uneven surface, the diagonals and the often frozen snow make the Stelvio a track where only the best win in the race, those who combine technically perfect skiing with the intelligence of knowing how to choose the right track , to muscular resistance” as Oreste Peccedi commented in 2020 in an exclusive interview given to our Società Multiservizi Alta Valle.
Rankings in hand, the Stelvio truly tests the body and mind of the champions who have challenged and still challenge each other on this track today. Names such as Alberto Tomba, Pirmin Zurbriggen, Aksel Lund Svindal, Bode Miller, Christof Innerhofer and Dominik Paris are imprinted in the history of this track.
Two of them in particular have set indelible records:
Paris, with its 6 victories (5 of which consecutive) in Downhill and 1 in Super Giant
Svindal, with the fastest time 1’54.08 in 2013
The Rocca, the Carcentina, the jump of San Pietro:
there are many legendary traits of the Stelvio!
Over 3 km in length, with a difference in altitude of over a thousand metres, with gradients of up to 63% and jumps of over 45 metres. These are the numbers of the Stelvio!
A dizzying experience if you decide to undertake the descent, experiencing every single emotion that all its legendary features can give you. Let’s look at the key steps together:
Go up to Bormio 3000 and in a few bends you arrive at the start of the Stelvio. You are at an altitude of 2,268 meters and the first challenge appears in front of you: La Rocca, a schuss with a 63% gradient that will allow you to reach great speed in just a few moments. Technique, strategic thinking and cold blood will have to accompany you throughout the descent, starting from the first curves on this stretch which lead you to tackle the jump of the same name.
With a leap that the champions take in the air for 30 meters you will reach the Canalino Sertorelli, a 300 meter diagonal in strong acceleration which is followed by a smooth stretch that takes you to the Salto Fontana Lunga and the Ermellini curves.
From here you enter an epic stretch of the Stelvio, La Carcentina, a very demanding diagonal on which the great champions often play the fate of the race.
The route is still long and the wall of St. Peter is approaching with its 50% gradient and an exciting jump that leads the athletes to advance up to 45 meters reaching maximum speed on the track.
There is still a stretch that makes the difference in the Champions’ races and puts even the most prepared athletes to the test: it is the final Schuss (La Konta) which takes you to the heart of Bormio, right in the town, at 1,245 metres.
About two minutes of pure adrenaline!
A new page is about to be written
The XXV Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games are approaching and the Stelvio slope is preparing to host all the men’s Alpine skiing competitions.
Athletes from different disciplines will be taking to the track, from the fastest ones such as the downhill and super-G, to the more technical ones such as the slalom and giant slalom up to the mixed ones such as the Alpine combined.
On the Olympic medal table there will be 5 medals that Bormio will award to the athletes who complete the Stelvio with the greatest merit.
The first downhill race will take place on 7 February 2026. Mark the appointment in your diary and don’t miss the excitement of the next Olympics!
Sometimes words are not enough to describe the Stelvio. You have to live it, feel it under your skis and breathe it. Come to Bormio and immerse yourself in the legendary experience
of this descent!
Bormio and environs: where nature meets adventure
Bormio is poised to become the epicenter of winter sports, where the greatest ski champions will compete for glory and the title of the world’s best skier. Here, amid the majestic snow-capped mountains and electrifying atmosphere, every descent will be a moment of suspense, every jump an unparalleled thrill.
