What’s a piste mauve?

<Photo of the Piste Mauve in La Clusaz, France (sponsored by Milka)>
Ski runs in France are usually marked in colours: green for easy; blue for intermediate; red for advanced; and black for experts. Yet La Clusaz boasts a piste mauve (a purple piste). A few other resorts also have a piste mauve, but it’s still quite rare — and much sought after by some. So what is it?

The clue is Milka chocolate. They sponsor an easy piste in a few French resorts, adding sculptures of local animals that the kids (and adults) love having their photos taken next to or on. They also have purple information panels with information about the animals, the environment and other mountain-related information. Yes, educational, blah blah blah. I haven’t got the the most important bit yet. Here it comes.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>  FREE CHOCOLATE  <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

During school holidays, the Milka staff travel between the resorts, with one dressed as a Milka cow, to hand out Milka chocolate to kids. The kids do have to answer questions about stuff they’ve just learnt from the educational panels, and the chocolate is the size of the type you get with coffee. The rewards aren’t really there. Kids, there’s a much easier way. Just find a single adult who the Milka cow or the cow’s helper finds attractive and they’ll hand that person chocolate by the box load. I’d like to thank one Milka cow for our Milka chocolate fondue. It might have taken all six of us about half an hour just to unwrap enough chocolate for the fondue, but it was free and it was given with love. Or lust. Either way, it wasn’t reciprocated. Poor Milka cow.

Don’t get me wrong: we didn’t take the chocolate and run. A group of us hung out and partied with the Milka cow and his helper every time they were in town one season. Thankfully, he’d changed out of his cow outfit so we didn’t have random people begging for chocolate (hah! No chance: we ate it in a fondue already). With the outfit on, he’s the most popular man/cow in resort. With it off, he’s just another drunk guy who can dance exceptionally well.

For those kids or single people interested to know where the piste mauve is in La Clusaz, it’s under the Mini Loup chairlift on the Crêt du Merle peak — just opposite the snow park.

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About

I'm a technical author, journalist and writer from Australia who has been living in Europe since 2000 and exploring the world from there. My passions are writing, snow sports and travel.

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