Interview with Sara Wild at MBT - Part 1

Take a look at our about us page on the website and you can meet our team. But who really are the people behind Mont Blanc Treks? Over the coming months we find out more about them, these are the folks that makes MBT what it is today.

To start, I sat down with Sara, our founder at Mont Blanc Treks to find out about the inspiration and drive behind her successful company.

Growing up in the UK, I spent a lot of time walking in the hills. One of my earliest hiking memories is a school trip to the Lake District when I was about ten years old. It was my first time away from home, and we stayed in youth hostels and hiked from one to another. It was a simply beautiful place to be. My dad also loved hiking, and we often explored the Peak District National Park together on day trips with his hiking group, the ‘Tread Lightlies’.

My first encounter with the Alps came as a teenager during a school ski trip to the Dolomites, lucky me! I was 16 years old and in my final year at secondary school, I will never forget the view from the toilet window… I knew I needed to return (to the Alps, not that toilet!).

Over the following years I holidayed in the Alps as much as I could. Hiking trips, then climbing, mountaineering and skiing in winter. I explored the alpine regions in Austria, Italy and France. I first visited Chamonix in 1994, we camped there in the summer, hiking and climbing, and it quickly became an annual tradition. My teaching job allowed me six-week summer holidays, which I spent exploring the mountains in the UK or in the Chamonix region. That early passion turned into a lifelong love, a relocation and a change of career.

My love for the outdoors and being in the mountains has always been a significant part of my life. The European Alps became especially important to me in my 20s, which is now over 35 years ago, yikes! 

I was a teacher of design & technology in the UK, in addition I was involved with the outdoor education provision at two of the schools I worked at. One of the highlights was facilitating Duke of Edinburgh Award expeditions, which involved taking groups into the UK’s hills and mountains, this was a part of my job I thoroughly enjoyed.

When I moved to the Alps in 2007 with my family, I decided to pursue the qualifications necessary to become an International Mountain Leader. I already held UK mountain qualifications, but I worked hard to gain the additional certifications and gained experience leading treks for other companies. Although there are some great companies operating here in the Alps, I felt there was a need for a smaller, more personalised company, that specialised in this part of the world. This is what inspired me to start my own trekking company, where I could prioritize personal, high-quality experiences for my clients. 

I suppose I have been fortunate to make a passion into a vocation, that said, opportunities are there for the taking, which is what led me to create & nurture Mont Blanc Treks.

It's sharing the passion. I'm as enthusiastic now about this area than I was when I first came here in my 20s, 35 years ago. I just love sharing that passion. All the people that work with me say they just absolutely love to be in, not just these mountains, but any other mountains throughout the world. And I think, the vision has continued to do that, but also to find other areas and share those experiences with like minded folk.

I don’t spend much time focusing on what other companies are doing. Instead, we focus on doing the best job possible. Many larger companies act as middlemen, outsourcing their trips to local agencies. At Mont Blanc Treks, we run our trips ourselves. Even when we travel to more distant locations, we keep things small and personal. These bespoke trips are often guided by an MBT leader with the support of a local team.

Unlike large-scale commercial tours, our trips are tailored to the needs of our clients. When we venture further afield, it’s often to create unique experiences for existing clients, rather than to expand into large scale tourism.