Sommeiller Pass, Mountain pass at France-Italy border

Sommeiller Pass is a mountain saddle on the Italian-French border between Punta Sommeiller and Rognosa d'Etiache, at 3,009 m. From Bardonecchia a paved road runs to Rochemolles, then a dirt track with hairpins climbs past Lac Rochemolles and Rifugio Scarfiotti to a high plateau with a lake of varying water level. The pass links Bardonecchia with Bramans in Savoie.

The pass is named after Germain Sommeiller (1815–1871), the Italian engineer who directed the construction of the 12 km Fréjus railway tunnel between Bardonecchia and Modane. The access road from the Italian side was opened in 1962. The Rifugio Ambin once stood on the pass; it was demolished between September 2004 and October 2005, and a new bivouac was placed there in 2022.

The pass is named after Germain Sommeiller, the engineer who directed the digging of the 12 km Fréjus rail tunnel between Bardonecchia and Modane. Each year on the second Sunday of July the Stella Alpina motorcycle rally leaves Bardonecchia and climbs to the pass, the highest motorcycle meeting in the world. A hill at the southeastern edge of the plateau, marked by several flagpoles at 3,050 m, is the traditional goal of motorcyclists and off-road drivers.

The pass is only accessible during warmer months and can become impassable quickly when weather conditions deteriorate. Travelers should prepare for tight hairpin turns and check local road conditions before attempting the crossing.

The summer ski lifts on the Sommeiller Glacier opened after the access road was inaugurated in 1962 and closed in 1985, not in the mid-1900s. Their shutdown was caused by the glacier's retreat and the road's difficult passability, not by an avalanche.