Lot's of different ideas on how to tame it. Most find taller gearing the way to go. I've tried both ways. When I rode in Arizona, I found lower gearing 13/47 helped out. Yeah, the front end wanted to come up with just the slightest amount of throttle, but I found the gear ratios worked better for me there. When i tried 14/47 in Arizona, I needed a lower first gear for some of the trails.
I thnk most of it has to do with riding ability. I really think the faster you are, the better you can manage to run higher gearing on tight trails. I know Destry Abbott can run gearing in Arizona that I coulnd't even run out here in California. It's all experience. Unfortunately, I don't have a whole lot!