PARTICIPANT AGREEMENT, RELEASE AND ASSUMPTION OF RISK
In consideration of the services of Mountain Trip International LLC and Mountain Trip Alaska and all of their agents, owners, officers, volunteers, employees, and all other persons or entities acting in any capacity on their behalf (hereinafter collectively referred to as “MTI/MTA”), I hereby agree to release, indemnify, and discharge MTI/MTA, on behalf of myself, my spouse, my children, my parents, my heirs, assigns, personal representative and estate as follows:
1. I acknowledge that Guided Foreign and Domestic trips for mountaineering, rock climbing, ice climbing, ski touring, hiking, and via ferrata activities entails known and unanticipated risks that could result in physical or emotional injury, paralysis, death, or damage to myself, to property, or to third parties. I understand that such risks simply cannot be eliminated without jeopardizing the essential qualities of the activity.
The risks include, among other things: the hazards of walking on uneven terrain and slips and falls; rope burns; pinches, scrapes, twists and jolts that could result in scratches, bruises, sprains, lacerations, fractures, concussions, or even more severe life threatening hazards; being struck by rock fall, icefall or other objects dislodged or thrown from above; the use of climbing ropes and equipment; exposure to temperature and weather extremes which could cause hyperthermia (heat related illnesses), heat exhaustion, sunburn, dehydration; and exposure to potentially dangerous wild animals, insect bites, and hazardous plant life; the negligence of other participants or persons who may be present; the forces of nature, including lightning, weather changes and avalanche; the risks of falling off the rock, mountain or into a crevasse; the risk of altitude and cold including hypothermia, frostbite, acute mountain sickness, cerebral and pulmonary edema; transmissible pathogen or disease; travel in remote areas with poor or no access to emergency and/or medical services; consumption of food or drink; and improper lifting or carrying; my own physical condition, and the physical exertion associated with this activity.
Foreign countries have their own laws and standards of acceptable conduct; food and water related illnesses; foreign political, legal, social, transportation, health, and economic conditions; different standards of design, safety, and maintenance of buildings, public places, and conveyances; local & medical facilities and providers; weather conditions; criminal activity, environmental hazards; standards of living and health standards that are not equivalent to life in the United States.
Furthermore, MTI/MTA personnel have difficult jobs to perform. They seek safety, but they are not infallible. They might be unaware of a participant’s fitness or abilities. They might misjudge the weather, other environmental conditions. They might misjudge whether the terrain is safe for travel or where or when an avalanche may occur. They may give incomplete warnings or instructions, and the equipment being used might malfunction.