Rachel

I grew up in the UK, hiking in the Lake District as a family regularly. My father was a volunteer ranger, and our holidays took us to peaks all over the world, including New Zealand, Norway, the Azores, and ignited a lifetime obsession with these landscapes.

By the time I left school, I knew I needed to build a life in the mountains I was so inspired by, so I booked a one-way ticket to New Zealand, just a fresh-faced, naive teenager with a dream. I spent 4 years in the town of Wanaka, nestled in the Southern Alps, where I discovered multi-day hiking (the stunning Routeburn Track was my first - setting my standards high!). Since then, I’ve been living (and trekking!) my way around the world, in Australia, Portugal, Austria, Italy and of course Chile and Argentina.

I’ve been living in my adopted home of Canada for 7 years now, starting out in the adventure towns of Banff, Fernie and Whistler, before settling on the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia. I learnt to snowboard, studied Adventure Tourism, became a kayak guide, fell in love with trail running, and took up cycling and alpine climbing.

I’ve met so many inspiring people from all over the world on my travels who are pursuing their passions relentlessly, and I feel empowered every day to do the same.

I'm a Customer Experience Coordinator here at Swoop, helping you get prepared for your travels and adventures in Patagonia. I love using my experience to advise, to help foster a deep love of this region, make sure you have the time of your life, creating memories to last a lifetime.