Glacial ice is formed by the transformation of snow, which survives the summer in the collecting basin. Under the weight of the layers of fresh snow, the porous, granular firn compresses into crystalline, dense glacial ice. In the case of temperate glaciers whose ice temperature fluctuates around the freezing point, this process takes anywhere from a few years to decades; in the case of cold glaciers that have frozen at the bed, on the other hand, it takes several decades to centuries. The ice deforms under its own weight and flows down the valley like a very viscous liquid.

Even though today’s glaciers are only modest remnants of the former ice streams, Switzerland’s 1,000 or so glaciers cover 983 square kilometres, while Graubünden’s 444 glaciers cover only 183 square kilometres, which equates to 2.5% of the canton’s surface area. Valley glaciers such as Vadret da Morteratsch are large glaciers that lie at the bottom of the valley with part of their collecting basin and the entire wastage area forming a characteristic tongue shape. Smaller ice masses such as the Silvretta Glacier are called mountain glaciers. There are also cirque glaciers such as Vadret da Lischana, which are fed by avalanche snow, and hanging glaciers such as those on the north-east face of Piz Roseg.

At the heart of the high Alpine Pontresina adventure area are the glacier vantage point on the Diavolezza, easy access to the Morteratsch Glacier via the themed trail and the remarkable glacier mills near Cavaglia. The connecting elements are ice, water, energy and the traces of time that they have left behind in the spectacular landscape.

Thanks to the small red railway, the «Trenino Rosso» as Rhaetian Railway is known in Italian, all sights can be explored conveniently and individually with a hop-on/hop-off system. The train journey on the wonderful route from the glaciers to the gelato on the Piazza in Poschiavo is an attraction in itself – on the move between changing landscape and climate zones, as well as across cultural and linguistic borders, varied hiking and biking routes, rustic huts, inns and hotels, regional dishes and typical southern Graubünden hospitality await you.