Self esteem issues?

I have picked up these tactics from skiing in BC huts with guides. A few more things I've learned from them:
*you can often plan the route to give some different views
*if you have to kick-turn, make the turn shallow - think tight "V" insted of wide open "V" where you are having to reach way up slope with the turn (again, avoids trashing clients, causing falls and dropped skins and such)
*when posed with a decision of whether to ease off and go below the obstacle or steepen up and go above it, generally ease off and go below
*a good uptrack feels like it flows naturally over the terrain, and often involves a fair bit of thinking ahead, which I find to be a fun exercise
*safety trumps all of the above

When I set tracks this way, the folks following me tend to approve 

As for the long switchbacks - less turns is also less tiring, and having to cross the uptrack once or twice on a descent is just not a big deal. Fighting to ascend through an xmas tree farm or switchbacking with a zillion kick turns is just not worth the trade for a completely unmarred canvas.

One of our guides told a story of arguing about the long moderately traversing switchbacks versus short and steep with a supposedly-strong Utah group, so he challenged them to a 2K vertical foot race where both were breaking trail (the clients were also trading leads while the guide was alone). He waited for them for a while at the top.

I compliment the trail breaker no matter how bad the uptrack...you know the story about the army guy who cooked up a pot of poo (whoever complains has to cook next and he didn't want to cook any more). The next to eat it said "This tastes like poo....but it's really good poo".

I never begrudge a prior trailbreaker their choices, but there are most assuredly times, particularly when I have a group with mixed abilities following me, when I'll forge a new path based on seeing that they made choices I'd not have made.

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The best you can hope for any skin track is that it's buried by new snow soon.  And that your dog approves.