The Goring Bar Celebrates the Spirit of The Cresta Run, St Moritz

St. Moritz in winter is a feast of opulence and glamour, with a history very much shaped by the British and their spirit of adventure. Two such adventurers were Otto Goring and his son (also Otto), founders of the Belgravia hotel of that name, who made it their winter escape in the 1920s and 1930s. At the heart of this mountain hideaway is the famously hazardous Cresta Run, a beacon of Swiss and British inventiveness and derring-do. All of which has inspired the creation The Cresta Bar at The Goring, in collaboration with the Kulm Hotel St Moritz, home to the Sunny Bar - the Cresta Run's unofficial clubroom, where riders come before and after their descent, for a fortifying snifter.

The cocktails will be a main event, especially created by the masters at The Sunny Bar and will include a good old fashioned Bullshot, a sure fire favourite Winter Magic Punch, a classic Lemon Fizz and a few surprises such as Thrills and Spills, Apparently Unharmed (!) and not forgetting a Shuttlecock named after the infamous turn on the Cresta Run. The Goring will also be serving delicious Swiss inspired canapés from chef Shay Cooper who has put his Michelin-starred twist on Tartiflette, Roesti potato and Mustard macaroon with Emmental cheese and cured ham.

A special selfie wall will also be created giving guests their own Cresta experience but from the comfort of The Goring's veranda.

A brilliant collection of archive photos from the Kulm Hotel's Sunny Bar and its famous wall of photos (see moodboard above) will take centre a stage at The Cresta Bar at The Goring – a rivetting photographic record of the Cresta Run's history and the men who have conquered it (or not). The props and décor will also include an intriguing assortment of the paraphernalia used to survive this superbly treacherous icy corkscrew: metal and leather hand and elbow guards, steel boot rakes and helmets, as well as the St Moritz Toboggan Club' (SMTC) scarlet and gold pullovers and scarves and the famous Shuttlecock Club tie (fallers at the challenging Shuttlecock bend automatically become members of the Shuttlecock Club and are entitled to wear the tie) - all in a cozy, deeply convivial relaxed atmosphere.

The Cresta Run dates back to 1885, when five guests (4 British; 1 Australian) who formed the ‘Outdoor Amusements Committee' of the Kulm Hotel St.Moritz set out to build a toboggan run. They plotted a splendidly dangerous three-quarter mile course from the Kulm Hotel, following the contours of the valley, down to the ancient village of Cresta.

The membership list of the St Moritz Toboggan Club (SMTB , which operates the Cresta Run) is a roll call of eminences and luminaries with a very British tinge: Erroll Flynn, Lord Wrottesley (still the fastest recorded descent from The Top), Matt Dawson, James Cracknell, Lord Lucan, the Duke of Kent and Bill Shand Kydd: an eclectic bunch, with one thing in common; a sense of eccentricity and adventure.

As Jeremy Goring says, “If you want to do the Cresta Run this winter, but do not have time or a deathwish, The Cresta Bar at The Goring is where you need to be.”

The Cresta Bar at The Goring – from 28th November through to February 2017

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