Janette Norton lived with her physicist husband, Alan, in the Geneva region for over 30 years, raising four children and working in the marketing field. Her love of mountain walking dated from the time she was a guide in her twenties, and the proximity to her home of the Alps and the Jura enabled her to continue her passion. After her children grew up, she branched out to walk in other areas of France such as Provence, the Cevennes and the Dordogne.