Check out what it means to dive under a thick plate of ice high up in the Swiss alps during winter. Floating underneath a frozen lake with 2°C water, for sure one of the most spectacular dive spots in Switzerland.

Trip overview:

• 1 weekend (2 days)
• 1 km (by foot)
• 200 m (by diving under ice)
• 1 frozen alpine lake to explore

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Preparing the dive site

First thing to do, shovel snow on the frozen lake. Note that ice diving can be dangerous if you are not properly trained in the safety precautions and the use of a dry suit!

Once a path is made and the snow gone, we start cutting a squared / triangular hole into the ice. Either with an axe or a chainsaw with a huge blade.

Double checking the equipment before submerging into the cozy ice jacuzzi with an awesome view into the Swiss alps.

Air bubbles cumulating and floating along the ice.

Always connected to the surface by a 30m long safety rope.

Getting some more light into the frozen lake by shovelling some circles free from snow that the sun light can shine through the ice plate.

Discovering the underwater world with some intense lights.

Swiss sausage barbecue on a frozen lake, what an extraordinary lunch.

The gear always ready to dive.

The water so clear you can see the world above the ice through the tiny entrance.

The safety rope connects every diver and goes up to the surface. In case of an emergency the crew on the ice pulls all divers out within a couple of seconds. In case of an emergency (e.g. frozen regulator that supplies air) a diver pulls the rope 3 times to get rescued. Pulling the rope two times signals everything’s ok.

Playing under the ice with the dry suit. Intentionally causing imbalance with the air filled dry suit lifts you quickly up into this position where you can stand up side down on the ice.

Flipping the view to make it look like you’re standing on ice in a frozen lake.

Quite hard to do but indeed possible to sit upside down on a chair under the frozen lake. It took me at least 10 min to get there (and at that point, thanks to professional underwater photographer Elmar Dette for the patience while struggling getting into this chair). But…once you sit there in the chair, you enjoy the unbelievable view of the dark lake ground and the light flooded ice plate. Fresh exhausted air immediately going down, hitting the floor and floating along the ice. Feeling like an astronaut, this is for sure one of the most exciting things you can do in Switzerland during winter.

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