Imogen

My first taste of hiking was a secondary school disaster spent wandering around the Welsh mountains, ill-prepared and soaking wet, searching in vain for the finish line of the gold Duke of Edinburgh award. When I finally made it back to civilization, I threw away my hiking boots (symbolically; I actually returned them to their original owner who probably threw them out anyway). I swore my hiking career was over… Or so I thought. 

I left the UK shortly after completing a degree in Anthropology & Archaeology in favour of New Zealand where a two-year MSc in Science Communication turned into a six-year career in Natural History television production. Here, my love for the outdoors flourished as I ticked off as many multi-day Great Walks as I could and dove into conversation and landscape photography. I returned to the UK in early 2024 via six months in Canada where I hiked all over Vancouver Island in the summer and explored the snow-blanketed Rockies in the winter.

Adventure and travel are the driving forces behind how I direct my life, and I have a huge passion for helping others experience extraordinary places and have adventures they perhaps never thought were possible. 

At eighteen, I took all of my hard-earned money and spent it on a solo trip to South America because I needed something interesting to talk about during Freshers’ week at the University of Bristol. 

I quickly fell in love with the nitty-gritty of travelling, meeting incredible people from all walks of life, and trying things I never thought I had the courage to. I hiked the Inca trail because it was included in the tour I paid for, and surprised myself by loving every step of it. High off this hiking success (or the altitude), I agreed to travel down to Patagonia and tackle the full O Circuit of Torres del Paine. 

After nine days of cramping calves and inspirational speeches on how “the campsite is just round the corner!”, I realised the best things in life come from putting in hard effort, turning back to see how far you’ve climbed, and looking forward to the breath-taking views you have yet to experience. 

After years of sending camera crews to the most remote places we could think of, I thought I would like to make expeditions more accessible to others with adventure in their hearts. 

I understand how important it is to have the right experience at the right time. I take pride in ensuring every customer is matched with the right trip to make incredible memories that will last a lifetime. 

Working remotely from the UK, I love connecting with people from around the world to chat about the amazing adventures they hope to have in Patagonia and helping them create their perfect itinerary.

From the moment you enter Torres del Paine National Park, you know you are somewhere truly special. With towering peaks, sparkling ice fields, glaciers that dwarf everything before them, and a never-ending list of places to explore, it has a draw that keeps calling no matter how far from it you venture. 

My trip to Patagonia unlocked a whole part of myself I thought couldn’t exist, and for that, I will always love those granite spires I worked so hard to get a glimpse of.

I love the opportunity working at Swoop gives me to help others experience such transformative adventures too.

After spending so long away from Europe, I’m excited to get back into the French Alps and hike through the areas I would normally ski and explore my way through the Dolomites.

I'm also keen to head over to Norway for a cold water surf mission beneath the Aurora Borealis!