“By a Travel Writers’ Network Member with permission”
Bond is back with Spectre, which – previews indicate – contains some action-packed wintery mountain scenes. The question is this: will Daniel Craig employ kite skiing, the latest adrenaline-fuelled snow sport, to escape the evil villains? In previous movies, he’s snowboarded his way to safety and escaped from the enemy by skiing down a bob-sleigh track, so ski kiting would seem a natural progression.
Kite skiing
Kite skiing is a fairly recent development in the snow sports industry, having been developed by explorers in the noughties as a wind-assisted way to reach the South Pole that much faster. It shares similarities with cross-country rather than downhill skiing (as it is practised on flat surfaces), apart from the fact that participants can use boards as well as skis to glide across the snow (making it comparable to water skiing and wakeboarding).
Lake Silvaplana & Kulm Hotel St. Moritz in winter
This winter season, for the first time ever, guests of the Kulm Hotel St. Moritz can channel their inner 007 and learn how to kite ski at speed over the frozen lakes of the Upper Engadine thanks to the launch of a new two-night package.
Guests will have their first kite skiing session on the more protected Lake Bianco, before testing their new-found skills on Lake Silvaplana. The latter provides ideal conditions for kite skiing, as it is located at the southern end of the Engadine, allowing the kites to really pick up the wind as it whistles through the valley.
The Kulm’s kite skiing package includes: – 2 nights’ half-board accommodation (with dinner in one of the Kulm’s five restaurants) – 2 x 3-hour kite skiing lessons (on separate mornings) – 1 x 50 minute AktiVital massage treatment to ease those tired muscles – 1 x lunchtime fondue after the first lesson – Late check-out at 3pm The package costs from CHF 1240 (approx £850) per person sharing a double room.
To book, please call +41(0)81 836 8236, email reservations@kulm.com or book online at www.kulm.com.