Black Ice Skating

Some winters the Upper Engadin lakes freeze solid before the first real snow falls, and the surface turns to black ice. Locally it is called Schwarzeis: ice so clear that you skate across dark water with cracks running away beneath your blades. Lake Sils, the Silsersee, lies a few minutes from Hotel Schweizerhof, Sils Maria, and when the ice is right it becomes the largest natural skating surface most guests will ever set foot on.

What black ice is

Black ice forms when a lake cools through its whole depth and freezes in still, hard frost with no snow falling on the new surface. Nothing scatters the light, so the ice stays transparent instead of white. The Upper Engadin, at around 1,800 metres, delivers the long dry cold spells that make this possible more reliably than almost anywhere else in the Alps. Lake Sils, Lej da Champfer, Lake Silvaplana, Lake St. Moritz and Lago Bianco on the Bernina Pass all freeze in turn.

When it happens, and why nobody can promise it

Freezing generally works through the lakes from December onwards. Lake Sils is usually frozen over between late December and mid January, while deeper Lake Silvaplana takes the longest. Black ice needs two things at once: a full freeze and a dry sky. A single snowfall covers the transparency for the season, and in mild winters the clear phase never arrives at all. Treat it as a gift rather than a fixture, and build your trip around the season rather than the phenomenon.

Checking conditions and staying safe

Walking or skating on the lakes is always at your own risk. The municipalities inspect and mark only prepared routes and infrastructure on the ice, so the rest of the surface carries no guarantee. Ask our reception or the Sils tourist information office for the current situation before you go out, and follow the official guidance: never go alone, only in good light, stay off milky patches, cracks and the inflow and outflow areas where the ice stays thin. The Swiss emergency number is 117.

The dependable alternative

When the lakes are covered or still open, the natural ice rink at Muot Marias sits in the middle of the village of Sils Maria, with a general skating field, a boarded hockey field and curling rinks, floodlit into the evening. It normally opens between early and mid December and runs into March, weather permitting. St. Moritz adds the year round Ludains ice arena, the natural rink at Chesa al Parc beside the Kulm and the small lake ice at Lej da Staz.

Skating from the Schweizerhof

The hotel stands in the village centre of Sils Maria, minutes from Lake Sils, and a free local bus stops 100 metres from the door for the rinks and lakes further up the valley. Come back cold and thaw out in the Arvenstube or over dinner at Restaurant Vuolp d'Or, on half board or a la carte.

Planning a winter stay in Sils Maria? Ask our team about current ice conditions when you enquire, and we will tell you honestly what the lakes are doing.