Shimla's main winter attraction ice skating commences at Asia's biggest natural ice skating rink

Shimla: Ice skating, the main winter attraction of Shimla, commenced at Asia's biggest natural ice skating rink here on Monday with the skating enthusiasts, including tiny-tots arriving in large numbers to enjoy the thrill of sliding on the ice.

The ice skating began on December 14 last year.

The low minimum temperature during the past few days proved boon for the skaters as water began freezing and the session 2023 started on Monday after successful trial run on Sunday, Manpreet Singh Sambhi, an executive member of the Shimla Ice Skating Club, told PTI.

"I feel so scared and excited to skate on ice" said seven-year-old Vidushi, who joined the club for the first time.

"Thrilled to skate, we all skaters were anxiously waiting for the season to start but the weather was not conducive and today finally the session has started," said another skater Neha Chauhan.

The clear sky with low temperatures during the winter with minimum temperatures staying below 4 to 5 degrees Celsius is most conducive pre-requisite for freezing of ice but the construction activity in the vicinity of the rink and the demolition of Ravoli Theatre above the rink which blocked direct sunlight helped in freezing is posing a challenge.

The shrinking ice-skating season has been a cause of serious concern as it is a major winter attraction for the locals as well as the tourists.

The ice-skating, which normally starts in the last week of November or first week of December, was stretched to December 14 last year with only 32 sessions, said Pankaj Prabhakar, another member of the Shimla Ice Skating Club.

The skaters said the ice skating session is shrinking due to climate change, global warming and reckless constructions in the vicinity of the rink coupled with pollution caused by the bus stand adjunct to the rink.

The construction activity around the rink and the felling of trees also contributed to late sessions, they said.

"We are pinning hope on the execution of Rs 40 crore project approved under the Asian Development Bank for development of all weather covered artificial ice skating rink," said the members of the club.

"The detailed project report has been prepared and the project is in the tendering process," they added.

There are around 300 members in the club.

December 2016 was the warmest in Shimla's history as the maximum temperature soared to 22 degree, spelling doom for ice skating with only only six sessions held.

The minimum number of 12 ice skating sessions were held earlier in 1972 while the maximum 118 sessions were held in 1997-98.

The history of the ice rink, which is equal to the size of five tennis courts (58 mts X 30 mts), dates back to 1920 when tennis courts were converted into a natural ice skating rink by Irish military official Blessington.

In the winter months, when he sprinkled water on the tennis court to settle the grass, it froze within seconds and he immediately thought of converting the arena into an ice skating rink.