A tall narrow tire is definitely the best in stuff like snow or mud that has a bottom. Even in rocks, why drive over if you can drive around or between? The rigs with wide tires sticking out both sides can't fit on narrow trails.
Most tires these days can hardly be called "narrow" except in proportion to height in some cases. Nothing is as narrow/tall as a 7.50-16 etc. A 10" tire was considered "wide" back in the 1970s but that's about a 255 today.
I'm going to be looking into something else to replace my factory 265/70R17 when it comes time. I've got all kinds of wheel well space under my 2500HD. I don't know what if any are alternate common sizes ... is 255/85R17 a thing?