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When they finally set off, everything aligned. There was fresh snow, no illnesses, no frantic airport moments. “It really felt like the stars finally aligned to make this trip happen,” she says. “There was snow, no one got sick, and we had zero travel mishaps getting there, which honestly felt like a small miracle with kids.”
The route
The family flew into Geneva and arranged a private transfer into Méribel. Choosing not to rent a car created a mild learning curve, but the simplicity was worth it. Their apartment was ski in and ski out, walkable to the lifts and had a pool and hot tub where the girls could unwind after long days on the mountain. Erin grew especially grateful for the washer and dryer, which kept gear rotations manageable in a way that hotels rarely allow.
The rhythm of a ski day
When the kids were in ski school, the shape of the day was unmistakable. The girls would start class at 9.30 a.m. and finish at 5 p.m. Erin and Jeremy would carve out adult skiing time and then reconnect after class for a final run back to their apartment. In the evenings, the hot tub and pool became their family decompression zone.
A few times, they arranged half days so the girls could join them in the afternoon. The kids loved these windows of freedom, especially because Méribel has several kid-focused runs with rolling hills, little tunnels, and forest detours. They were proud to guide their parents toward favorite features they had discovered with their instructors.
Some of the most memorable moments came from the unplanned ones. Early in the week, they stumbled upon a small snowmobile area where children could ride kid-sized snowmobiles around a short track. “The kids had an absolute blast and it only cost about ten dollars,” Erin says. “I swear, this would never happen in the US. It would be insanely expensive, require forty-three waivers, and need reservations weeks in advance. Watching them try to maneuver those tiny machines was the comic relief we didn’t know we needed.”
They also found a sledding slope with a conveyor belt, which allowed the girls to run laps while Erin and Jeremy drank cappuccinos at a cafe at the bottom. The simplicity of it, especially in contrast to the structure of ski school, made it all the more delightful.
Ski school in France
If you ask the adults, the girls’ ski school was extraordinary value. “Cost wise it was essentially the same price to enroll the kids in a full week of ski school versus one full day lesson at a big resort in the US, so it felt like a no-brainer for us,” Erin says.
If you ask the kids, they will offer a very different review.
“They’re strong skiers so our goal was really just to let them hang out with other kids while we enjoyed some kid-free ski time,” Erin explains. “Instead, we accidentally signed them up for what felt like a very serious, very structured ski school.”
