On the Slopes: From Aspen to the Alps

For the Bloom family of West U, skiing isn't just a vacation – it's a cherished tradition that spans generations. Sara Bloom, who grew up skiing with her family in South Dakota, introduced her husband Jeff to the sport when they met. “When I met him, I said, you need to learn to ski. And he did,” Sara recalls with a laugh.

Jeff, a New Orleans native, admits learning to ski as an adult wasn’t easy. "When you’re in your 30s, it’s not as easy as it is for a 5- or 6-year-old,” he says. “But I put my time in. I worked really hard. I was the first one out there, last one to leave, and years later, I’ve made my way to be able to ski almost anything with the family.” 

The picturesque French village of Chamonix, with over 1,000 years of history, was the site of the first Winter Olympics in 1924.

That determination has shaped how the Blooms approached skiing with their three sons: Oliver (17), Owen (15), and Ozzie (13). “If you start them early, it becomes like riding a bike,” Sara explains. “As soon as our kids were of age for ski school, we took yearly ski trips and we would put them in ski school.”

The family’s spring break ski trips, together with the Guharoys, their friends who also live in West U, have taken them across North America – from Copper Mountain to Whistler – but last year, they decided to venture further.

“We had pretty much gone to the popular ones,” Sara says. “We had been to Vail, we had been to Deer Valley, we went to Whistler in Canada, and to Big Sky, Montana. So we said, let’s think of something adventurous.” 

Jeff, Ozzie, Sara, Owen, and Oliver Bloom on their recent Aspen getaway.

The two Houston families set their sights on Chamonix in the French Alps.

For the Guharoys, the chance to ski both the French and Italian Alps in one trip was a major draw. “Just a 30-min drive between the two,” notes Sruba De Guharoy.

The French Alps offered a dramatically different skiing experience from American resorts. “The mountains are so much steeper and super large,” Sara describes. “Just to get to where you're going to ski, you have to take these cable cars and go all the way to the top of the mountain.”

While lift tickets were significantly cheaper – “You might only pay $35 a day to ski instead of $250,” Jeff notes – the European approach to ski infrastructure was notably different. “It's a little more rustic skiing,” Sara explains. “It's not like going and skiing in Vail where there's all these groomed trails for you and signs. It’s more like you're kind of back mountain skiing.”

Owen, Ozzie, Jeff, and Sara (from left) on the lift in Aspen.

American resorts are designed around efficiency and convenience, says Sruba. This is not the case in France, where the resorts are older. “For example, there were no places to store your boots or skis after a day of skiing. Which meant we were carrying our gear to and from the mountain each day. But nothing that a good drink après couldn’t cure.” 

The family hired French guides who would start each day with coffee at their accommodation before leading them to different mountains. “We had two guides because we would send our kids with one and the adults would go with another guide,” Sara says. “Every day we went to a different mountain.” 

One memorable excursion took them across the border to Italy through a tunnel carved into the mountain, though not without incident. “Jeff is riding with one of our guides, and he gets pulled over by the police and stopped by immigration because he has no identification,” Sara recounts, a bit ruefully. “So we spent a little time waiting with the police before we could get into Italy.”

The Blooms and the Gujaroys, friends from West U, have skied together for about eight years.

The guide himself wasn’t immune to border troubles. “Stefan forgot to bring his passport!” recalls Sruba. “Apparently he never knew to bring his passport after passing the border for the past 20 years!”

The journey also highlighted the stark reality of climate change in the region. “We would be skiing down the mountain and at the end it would be skiing into grass,” Sara describes. Jeff adds, “Our guides said, ‘Each of the last five years we’re getting less and less snow.’ That doesn't happen to us in the Rockies... we never skied down into grass or concrete, not even one time over the last 15 years.” 

Jeff and Oliver stop for a quick photo

Despite the challenges, the cultural experience was unforgettable. “The town was absolutely stunning,” Sara says of Chamonix. “It's not a manufactured village. It’s a real, cute French village with so much history.” The après-ski culture was particularly memorable: “The mentality of skiing on the mountain and at the end, let’s go sit and have a little aprés ski and then go to a nice dinner... maybe even more grand and fun.” 

The Blooms and Guharoys have been doing these annual ski trips together for eight years, mainly during spring break. The family dynamics on the slopes have evolved as the children have grown. “They love skiing with their friends,” Sara notes. “But they also enjoy skiing with us a couple of days during the trip.” This reality has shaped how the Blooms structure their trips, often traveling with other families whose children are close in age to their sons.

Safety remains a top priority, especially as the boys push their boundaries. “When we're skiing together... we would have adults at the beginning and the end,” Jeff explains. “Sara would lead, all the kids would be in the middle, I would follow at the end, so just in case someone fell or whatnot, you have an eye on them.” However, this becomes more challenging as the boys venture into more adventurous terrain: “It's harder to do when kids are going in between the trees and you lose them.” 

The group gathers under a signpost on the mountaintop in Chamonix

Sara emphasizes the importance of professional instruction in building both skills and confidence. “I think the way to teach your kids is really to have the mountain instructors do it, because they’re so good, and they know how to do it, and kids don't want to listen to their parents,” she says. “Everybody has a better ski trip when they’re learning from someone that can really teach them the skills they need.”

Through all the logistics, expense, and occasional mishaps, the Blooms maintain that it’s worth every moment. The preparation alone is daunting – “Going from your house in Houston with 10 people, traveling together, and everything that needs to happen to make your way to the top of the mountain with skis on your feet, it's a lot," Jeff admits. “It's planes, trains, and automobiles.” 

Chamonix, where the Arve River meets alpine majesty.

Yet the rewards far outweigh the challenges. These trips have given their children a broader perspective on the world and taught them valuable life lessons about resilience, trust, and family bonds. 

As Jeff puts it, “It’s a challenging sport and takes a lot of resources. If you love it, it’s so worth it.” For the Blooms, watching their children grow from tentative beginners to confident skiers who can tackle almost any slope has been priceless. These shared adventures, whether in Aspen or the Alps, have woven themselves into the fabric of their family story – creating memories that will last long after the snow has melted.

The Bloom and Guharoy kids (Owen, Oliver, Kai, Asher, Ozzie, and Siona, from left) on an outing in Chamonix

Tips from Our Travelers

From Sara and Jeff Bloom
Worth the splurge: Upgraded lodging near the lifts and restaurants
Don’t miss: Aiguille du Midi in Chamonix – the highest cable car in France.
Favorite restaurants: Cache Cache in Aspen and La Table d'Armante in Saint-Gervais, France
Equipment: Comfortable ski boots that fit properly.
Don’t forget: Handwarmers and sunscreen
Local favorite: Après at Longhorn Saloon in Whistler
Safety tip: Local guides if skiing outside the U.S.
Not really worth the trouble: Renting a car if daily transportation options are convenient.