Release: General Agreement Text – Expeditions

Thank you for applying to Mountain Trip to provide you with mountain guiding services. The process of registering for a position on an expedition requires that you submit registration information and sign this document, consisting of:

1. General Disclosures, Disclaimers and Agreements
2. General Agreement Concerning Services to be Provided And Responsibilities of Team Members
3. Fee Schedule, Refund and Cancellation Policy
4. Medical Information

To secure a position on one of our teams, you must read all of this document, provide the necessary information, and return it to us with a deposit for the expedition. A copy of this document is available on our website. Please feel free to contact us with any questions about the registration process.

General Disclosures, Disclaimers and Agreements

1. You understand that before you will be accepted on this expedition you will be signing a Release Form or an Acknowledgement of Risk, which releases you and your family from any right to sue Mountain Trip for injury, death or loss of property.
2. We are not travel agents and are not providing travel services. We are recommending travel agents for you to use who have experience booking travel to the far reaches of the world where our company works, however we cannot accept liability for any of your travel. Travel to and from the expedition is incidental to the expedition. We strongly encourage you to investigate trip cancellation and travel insurance. Ask us for more information about travel insurance.
3. All documents you sign are incorporated herein by reference.
4. The terms of this agreement and all other agreements shall continue and be in effect after the expedition has ended. All changes or alterations to this document must be in writing and approved by both parties. No changes to the face of any document are valid.
5. Even though you have been accepted on to the expedition, Mountain Trip and/or the trip leader may at any time remove you from the expedition for reasons including but not limited to: your health and safety, the team’s health and safety or for failing to follow expedition rules or any government or government agency laws, rules or regulations.
6. Each of the accompanying documents contains important information that you need to read and understand. You agree to the terms and assume the risks set forth in the documentation, website and other information that Mountain Trip has provided, including the relinquishment of legal rights in the various documents.

General Agreement Concerning Services to be Provided And Responsibilities of Team Members

You are registering for an expedition with Mountain Trip. This page is intended to help make sure you understand the services we are providing and the services you are responsible for.

Transportation is incidental

The main purpose of becoming a team member is to join us on an expedition in the mountains. As such any transportation we provide or that you may contract for on your own is incidental to the trip. We suggest that you make sure you have time built into your itinerary for delays.

Transportation to and from your destination

We will designate a specific Meeting Day for your expedition. Transportation to the meeting point on your Meeting Day is to be provided by you. You must arrive in time to be ready to participate in a team meeting at the appointed time on the Meeting Day for your expedition. Expedition climbing is very dynamic and we will provide you with a recommendation as to when you should book your flights to and from your destination. We suggest you book a ticket that allows you to change your flight with little effort or cost.

Lodging off the mountain

For some expeditions, Mountain Trip provides lodging before and/or after the mountain portion of the expedition. Any lodging provided will be clearly outlined in the expedition itinerary. Any additional lodging beyond what is included in the expedition itinerary is your responsibility.

Mountain Trip will provide the following services:

• Lodging and transportation per the itinerary for your expedition
• All food and group gear while in the mountains.
• Our experienced guides
• **You are responsible for any extraordinary transportation needs. For example, if you depart the expedition prior to the end of the expedition, then you may incur additional transportation expenses.

Responsibilities of Team Members

• You are ultimately responsible for your own well-being, including making all necessary preparations to ensure good health and physical conditioning.
• You are responsible for understanding the conditions that may exist on the climb and choosing a climb that is appropriate for your abilities and interests.
• You are responsible for having knowledge of all pre-departure information and for assembling all required items from the equipment list for your climb. If you do not have all of the required items, you will not be allowed to participate on the trip.
• DENALI CLIMBERS ONLY: You are responsible for registering with the National Park Service (NPS) and paying the Denali Mountaineering Special Use Fee no less than seven days prior to the expedition. If you do not register the NPS will not allow you to participate in the expedition and you will not be allowed to fly onto the Kahiltna Glacier with the rest of the team. Mountain Trip will not provide you a refund if the NPS prohibits you from joining the expedition.
• While on the expedition, team members are responsible to maintain basic levels of hygiene and to conduct themselves respectfully with other team members and members of the local population. If a guide feels that a team member is putting other member’s health or safety at risk, the guide has the discretion to remove a team member from an expedition. Unsafe, disruptive or abusive behavior, use of drugs or alcohol, and disregarding instructions are examples of behavior that can lead to your expulsion from the trip.
• Use our office staff and your lead guide as pre-trip resources to ensure that all your questions are answered.
• You are responsible for certain financial obligations associated with your expedition. Please refer to our Fee Schedule, Refund, and Cancellation Policy.
• Airline Responsibility Passenger/Airline contracts are in effect while team members are on board any aircraft contracted for use in the expedition.

No Guaranteed Outcomes

While it is one of our goals to help every climber on every Mountain Trip expedition reach the summit, Mountain Trip cannot guarantee that you will reach the summit. Any number of factors, including weather, the conditions encountered on the route, your personal level of fitness or ability, the abilities of your team mate(s) or any number of other circumstances might result in you and/or your team turning around before reaching the summit. Failure to reach the summit for any reason, including, but not limited to weather, team dynamics, guide illness or injury, route conditions, avalanche hazard, rockfall hazard, etc, or due to your lack of fitness or preparation are not the responsibility of Mountain Trip and will not result in a refund or a rescheduling of your expedition.

Fee Schedule, Refund and Cancellation Policy

Mountain Trip recognizes how difficult and disappointing it can be for climbers who must cancel expeditions which they have planned for a long time. Team members must also recognize that, due to the nature of planning expeditions and dealing with governmental permits and regulations, Mountain Trip also accrues significant expenses in the months prior to expedition departure dates. We must therefore adhere to a strict refund policy for all climbers. We strongly recommend trip cancellation and travel insurance for all expeditions. U.S. and Canadian residents should contact us for more information regarding travel insurance. Our refund and cancellation policy is outlined below; however, as noted, certain trips may require specific policies that supersede those listed below.

• All expeditions require a deposit to secure a spot on the team. Your submission of a deposit constitutes your acceptance of this Fee Schedule, Refund and Cancellation Policy.
• All deposits for expeditions include a non-refundable administration fee (We highly recommend that you consider Trip Cancellation Insurance to protect the administration fee, if not the entire cost of your climb).

Denali & private Alaska trips requires a $2500 deposit ($1500 administration fee)

Mount Vinson requires a $7000 deposit ($1500 administration fee)

Carstensz requires an $8000 deposit ($1500 administration fee)

Aconcagua and Elbrus require a $1500 deposit ($750 administration fee)

Alaska Range courses require a $1500 deposit ($750 administration fee)

Himalayan Treks require a $1500 deposit ($750 administration fee)

Himalayan Expeditions including Mount Everest require a $15000 deposit ($2500 administration fee)

• Final payments for expeditions must be received 120 days prior to the Meeting Day.
• Failure to pay expedition fees by the date they are due constitutes cancellation of your spot on the team and forfeiture of your deposit.
• Any cancellation 120+ days before your Meeting Day will be refunded in full, less the administration fee.
• If you cancel 120-90 days before your Meeting Day, you are eligible for a refund of 50% of any monies paid, less the deposit.
• No refunds will be provided for cancellations occurring within the last 89 days prior to an expedition.
• All requests for refunds must be made in writing and received in our Colorado office.
• If you register for a climb within 90 days of the Meeting Date, expedition fees will be due in full to secure your spot on the team.
• Mountain Trip reserves the right to cancel an expedition prior to the departure date for any reason. In such an event, all monies collected by Mountain Trip from team members for that expedition shall be promptly refunded. This is the extent of our financial liability.
• Some private expeditions are subject to additional terms and conditions that supersede those stated above.

Carstensz Pyramid Expedition Additional Terms and Conditions

Any additional helicopter expenses due to “return to base” costs if a helicopter does not reach base camp due to weather conditions or other reasons will be the shared amongst each climber on the team.

We recommend that you have flexibility to accommodate delays due to weather or logistical problems of up to one week. We will not cancel the expedition due to delays of less than one week.

Confidential Medical Information

The information you provide to Mountain Trip in our registration paperwork is provided for three purposes:

1. We may need the information in our registration paperwork if you suffer an illness or injury on the expedition.
2. We want you to see a physician and have your physician’s approval before undertaking the expedition. We will not made decisions concerning your health or fitness to undertake the expedition. That is a decision between you, your family, and your physician.
3. While we have no intention to release any of this information, please recognize that you are waiving your rights under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and any state HIPAA laws. We may need to share your medical information if you suffer an illness or injury on the trip.

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)

I hereby forever waive, discharge and release any rights I have under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) for the information I have provided above as well as any information that I may provide to Mountain Trip, its guides, employees, contractors, or third parties. I understand that this is being done for my safety and well being as well as the fact that my medical information cannot be kept confidential on a mountainous rescue scenario. I promise not to sue Mountain Trip for any release of my medical information at any time to anybody.