Celebrating 20 Years of Tracks and Trails
There are many things we’ve loved about running Tracks and Trails for 20 years. One of the biggest has got to be having guests return year after year to travel with us.
Here’s what George and Margaret had to say about their experience – we’re currently helping them to find the ideal snowshoe trip for winter 2027. It will be their 20th holiday with Tracks and Trails and, at 82 years young, they are a great example that you are never too old to find your next adventure!
George and Margaret Taylor
“We both have a background in trekking and climbing in locations around the world from the Alps to the Himalayas. In later years, I was fortunate enough to be able to arrange my working life around the alpine climbing season, so have summited about forty 4,000 metre peaks during my climbing career and Margaret has achieved about twenty.
“Cross country-skiing featured in our winter mountain focused activities for the best part of 20 years. In our early sixties we concluded that it would be a good idea to find a winter mountain sport that avoided us falling over quite as often as had been our experience while cross country skiing.
“That’s when we found Tracks and Trails and Lindsay introduced us to the wonderful world of snowshoeing!
"Our first trip was to Champex Lac, in Switzerland. It’s a beautiful village at altitude and the snow was great. That was the start of our winter adventures on snowshoes.
“Over the years, we’ve also had the pleasure of being pioneers on new trips. Joining Lindsay to break trail and open up new routes – we’ve done it many times in France, plus Germany, Slovenia, and Italy, and twice in Norway – which has been huge fun. It adds to the sense of discovery and adventure!
“We have made many wonderful memories on our trips with Lindsay and the Tracks and Trails team. I’m not sure who had the most fun when she taught us both how to ‘bumslide’ – we were both aged 70+ - but acting like over excited 7-year-olds as we slide down the mountain!
“It’s a great technique for dealing with very steep gradients of hard packed snow – when avalanche risk allows of course. Simply sit down with your snowshoes resting on top of the snowpack. Then, lean back slightly, put your poles out so that the baskets are behind you to work as a light break if needed.
“On another occasion, when the avalanche risk on the route had been a concern and we had already descended about 100 metres or so Lindsay casually asked, ‘How fit are you feeling? How about we go back up via a different route to the descent to that col there?’ As it turned out, she’d meant the peak just above it, but there was no need for discussion, we all cheerfully headed for the summit.
“And then there’s the pleasure of Margaret delivering her favourite answer to the question ‘Which wine would you like this evening?’ –it’s wine, what’s not to like!!!
“Even in the relatively short time of 20 years, we’ve seen snow conditions change a lot. In the early days we learned a lot from Lindsay and the other guides about breaking trail through deep snow and how to watch for avalanche risks – as summer climbers the risk was generally low, so it is important to learn about safely negotiating the terrain in the winter.
“Things haven’t always gone quite to plan though. Many years ago, I fractured my femur carrying my cross-country skis on black ice in St Moritz, in Switzerland. Unfortunately, that was about 9 weeks before our next snowshoe trip. It turned out I needn’t have worried though. I did as I had been told, and used crutches, putting them away promptly when I reached the recommended the eight-week marker.
“When it came to it, Tracks and Trails hadn’t been able to find a replacement for me on the trip to the Névache in France. So, I opted to go anyway, and Lindsay was brilliant as ever. I had to miss only one day of the trip as it would have been too onerous.
“On another day, heading up a particularly steep slope, I could hear someone else (not in our group) explaining to Lindsay that she was an orthopaedic surgeon. She was asking if I had a prosthetic device because my gait wasn’t completely normal and from recollection, was deeply concerned when Lindsay explained that I was 9 weeks post-surgery!
“I outpaced the surgeon all the way to the summit, which tickled Lindsay pink!
“We’ve watched the business expand over the years with great pleasure and it’s good to see the team grow.
“What makes Tracks and Trails a pleasure to work with was the friendly, personal and accessible team on the end of the phone. And that hasn’t changed. There’s no need for endless rounds of emails. Talking to real people is just great.
“We appreciate the simplicity of being able to talk to anyone on the team and to ask questions and arrange additions or variations for a trip. They are knowledgeable and give sensible answers and we know they also have the authority to make decisions on the spot.
“Tracks and Trails are masters at finding accommodation – they balance quality and value brilliantly – and also offer the flexibility of upgrading too. It’s that attention to detail and personal service that sets them apart.
“All of the Tracks and Trails guides that we’ve travelled with have been hugely knowledgeable and reassuringly clear that safety is their first concern. It’s an important consideration when you are putting your trust in people to guide you in the mountains.
“We’ve been lucky enough to explore seven different countries since our first trip with Tracks and Trails. We’ve journeyed on snowshoes about 1,000 kilometres across Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Slovenia and Switzerland. We’ve discovered the varied terrain of the Julian Alps, the Allgäu Alps, the Jotunheim mountains, and Chamonix Valley. All fabulous destinations!
“We appreciate that we can largely travel to the base by train. It means we can enjoy a night somewhere on route and make that part of our holiday too.
“We have no plans to stop our winter adventures. For 2027 we plan to return to Chamonix, the centre of Alpine mountaineering and where Tracks and Trails is based. We wish Tracks and Trails many more successful years of giving their clients – many now friends such wonderful experiences in the future.