Booking Conditions for Expeditions, Treks and Courses

1. All bookings are made with Adventure Peaks Limited Registered Company, Number 4063174 (hereinafter referred to as the Company) whose registered office is 101 Lake Road, Ambleside, Cumbria LA22 0DB, United Kingdom.
2. The terms and conditions of all agreements made with the Company shall be subject to, and governed by, English Law and the courts of England and Wales alone. Any disputes or claims are to be decided by the English courts, and subject to English Law alone.
3. In order to make a booking you can pay a deposit by telephone, book online or post a Booking Form to Adventure Peaks Limited with your deposit. Deposits are required as follows:
   1. Expeditions & Treks £400 per person (except those set out at (ii) to (vii) below which require a higher deposit), Europe and Morocco £200 pp
   2. Denali £3000
   3. Carstensz Pyramid, Snow Leopard & 8,000m Peaks, Polar Voyage £2000
   4. Poles and Antarctica – £5,000 per person
   5. UK Courses – £150 per person.
   6. Alpine Courses & Mt Damavand £400 pp
   7. Extension – £200 per person.
4. Interim deposits to the same value are due 4 months before departure and the remaining balance is due 10 weeks before departure, excepting:
   1. Arctic and Antarctica trips, Carstensz Pyramid, 8000m Peaks and the full Snow Leopard Challenge where two interim deposits to the same value are due 6 months and 4 months before departure and the remaining balance is due 3 months before departure.
   2. Denali interim equal to 50% of the trip cost is due 4 months before deaparture and the final balance at 3 months before departure.
   3. UK based courses where no interim is required and the remaining balance is due two months before departure.
5. Trip prices are based on an exchange rate of US$1.35 / Euro 1.12 – UK£1 and operating costs at the time of booking. The Company reserves the right to levy fuel and/or currency surcharges following significant currency fluctuations or operating costs beyond our control. We sincerely hope that surcharges will not be necessary, but in the unlikely event that they are, you may cancel your booking without penalty if the surcharge amounts to more than 10% of the cost of the trip.
6. We encourage early booking to guarantee the best pricing. The Brochure and online prices are subject to change and are most likely to gradually increase after publication. Adventure Peaks Website states the bookable price and latest offers.
7. If payment is made by credit card, a 1% charge (3% for non UK cards) and 3% for payments made by PayPal will be added to the total amount due to the company (this applies to interim payments, balances and miscellaneous purchases.). We do not accept AMEX. This amount is to cover the charges imposed by the credit card payment service provider and is used, in part, to provide consumer protection for goods and services purchased. This charge can be avoided by using a debit card or Bank transfer. If sending money by electronic (bank) transfer, then you must pay the remitter’s (your) fees and the beneficiaries (the Company’s) fees. The total amount received by the Company’s bank must be no less than the full amount shown on your invoice and paid in the invoiced denomination into the appropriate account of that same denomination.
8. The contract between you and the Company will come into effect once the company has issued to you a letter confirming your booking, an invoice and all relevant additional information, being either an expedition dossier or course joining instructions.
9. Once your booking has been confirmed, you must return a medical form and previous expereince questionnaire. After reviewing these the company may advise you to transfer to another trip or to cancel your booking, this can be done without penalty provided you returned completed forms within one month of the date you booked and no later than the date on which your final balance for the trip is due, as shown on your invoice. If the Company recieves your forms outside of these dates, no matter when you booked, the normal cancellation and transfer conditions will apply.
10. Extensions to expedition itineraries and course programmes can be purchased separately. Extensions are subject to a separate deposit. Confirmation of receipt by the Company of your extension deposit will not be confirmation of your extension as it will not be possible at that time for the Company to confirm that the booked extension will be available or that it will be identical to that shown in the marketing material. The Company will confirm all of the arrangements to you before you pay your final balance (which will be due at the same time as the final balance for the expedition or course to which it is an extension). Should the confirmed extension itinerary be significantly different to the published one then you will be free to cancel the extension only (not the expedition or course, to which it is attached) and a refund will be made.
11. If you purchase any optional activities that are not part of your pre-booked itinerary, the contract for the provision of that activity will be between you and the activity provider. The decision to partake in any such activity is entirely at your own discretion and risk. If you do have any complaint about, or problem with, any optional activity purchased overseas your claim should be directed to the activity provider and not to us.
12. It is important to be aware that once your deposits are paid, should you wish to cancel at any time thereafter, the deposit and interim deposits are non-refundable. It is strongly recommended that you have suitable travel insurance coverage from the time of booking.
13. If any interim payment due or the final balance is not received by the due date, the Company reserves the right to cancel your booking and you will forfeit your deposit, unless the Director of the Company has agreed a delay in your payment.
14. The expeditions in the brochure or on the website are ATOL protected, since the Company holds an Air Travel Organiser’s Licence granted by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). The Company’s ATOL number is ATOL 5882. In the unlikely event of the Company’s insolvency, the CAA will ensure that you are not stranded abroad and will arrange to refund any money you have paid to the Company for an advance booking. For further information, visit the ATOL website at www.atol.org.uk. If your trip includes a flight originating in the United Kingdom, the full-price includes an amount of £2.50 per person as part of the ATOL Protection Contribution the Company pays to the CAA. This charge is included in the Company’s advertised prices.
15. We, or the suppliers identified on your ATOL Certificate, will provide you with the services listed on the ATOL Certificate (or a suitable alternative). In some cases, where neither we nor the supplier are able to do so for reasons of insolvency, an alternative ATOL holder may provide you with the services you have bought or a suitable alternative (at no extra cost to you). You agree to accept that in those circumstances the alternative ATOL holder will perform those obligations and you agree to pay any money outstanding to be paid by you under your contract to that alternative ATOL holder. However, you also agree that in some cases it will not be possible to appoint an alternative ATOL holder, in which case you will be entitled to make a claim under the ATOL scheme (or your credit card issuer where applicable).
16. If we, or the suppliers identified on your ATOL certificate (if any), are unable to provide the services listed (or a suitable alternative, through an alternative ATOL holder or otherwise) for reasons of insolvency, the Trustees of the Air Travel Trust may make a payment to (or confer a benefit on) you under the ATOL scheme. You agree that in return for such a payment or benefit you assign absolutely to those Trustees any claims which you have or may have arising out of or relating to the non-provision of the services, including any claim against us, the travel agent (or your credit card issuer where applicable). You also agree that any such claims may be re-assigned to another body, if that other body has paid sums you have claimed under the ATOL scheme.
17. All flights booked by the Company for you will be subject to the conditions of the carrying airline which, in most cases, limit the airline’s liability to the passenger in accordance with international law and conventions. The Company accepts no liability for the consequences of delays, cancellations, change of routing, change of departure or arrival airport or for any other changes to your flight schedule, whatever they may be or howsoever caused (though you may be entitled to make a claim against the airline in question).
18. Advertised flight prices are normaly based on departures from a London airport as that cost is known at the time. You may request flights from regional airports or at a different ticket class and pay the difference. In addition if the advertised flights are no longer available at the price assumed by the company then you will be informed and asked to pay any increase before your flight booking is confirmed. If you do not wish to accept this increase you may withdraw your booking. No compensation shall be payable to you.
19. The Company may for operating reasons adjust advertised departure and return dates by 24 hours, even after bookings have been accepted.
20. The Company may request from you a payment for your international flight, if the airline concerned, or its agent, demands any such payment from the Company in order to reserve or confirm a seat and this is made before you have paid the final balance for your trip. Such a payment will be in addition to any deposit or interim payments as set out in these booking conditions. Such payments for flights will be subject to the terms and cancellation conditions of the airline concerned and may be non-refundable.
21. At any time, the Company will do its best to change your flight to meet your requirements, but this cannot be guaranteed as it will be subject to availability and there may be an additional cost, which you will be required to pay.
22. If you book to join a trip on a ‘land only’ basis, the Company cannot accept any responsibility for any of the travel arrangements that you make in order to join that trip. The Company accepts no financial liability that may arise from any enforced change to your travel plans due to any alteration of the trip dates, the itinerary or its cancellation, howsoever caused. You are advised to book transferable, refundable travel tickets with no penalties should a cancellation be necessary. Transfers to and from the destination airport and the first and last hotel are not included.
23. Cancellation of bookings must be notified in writing or by email. Cancellation charges are set out below, based on the date of receipt of written notification:
    1. More than 10 weeks’ notice before departure – loss of initial and interim deposits
    2. 8-10 weeks’ notice – 60% of total trip cost
    3. 6-8 weeks’ notice – 80% of total trip cost
    4. less than 6 weeks’ notice – 100% of total trip cost
       
       For Denali, Arctic and Antarctica trips the cancellation charges are:
    5. More than 6 months notice before departure – loss of deposit
    6. 4 – 6 months notice – loss of deposit and loss of interim deposit
    7. less than 3 months notice – 100% of total trip cost.
24. The Company will consider the non-payment of a final balance or interim payment, by its respective date due, an effective notification by you that you wish to cancel your booking. If so, you will forfeit your deposit, and any other sum paid or due in relation to the booking so cancelled, unless the Company decides to maintain your booking and to accept your payment after the due date. If a payment is going to be late, but you do not want your booking to be cancelled you must contact the Company before the date your payment is due.
25. After your booking has been confirmed, if you wish to transfer from one trip to another of the same type (i.e. expedition to expedition, course to course), an administration charge of 50% of your deposits per person, per booking, will be payable. At the same time, you must pay any costs that the Company has incurred in respect of your booking, such as deposits paid to airlines, guides or agents, if these are neither refundable nor transferable.
26. Transfers will be accepted at the Company’s discretion, among other things, being subject to spaces available on the trip to which you want to transfer, and the effect on the profitability of that trip should your transfer be accepted.
27. Transfer requests must be received by the Company in writing at its registered office and before the final balance due date. A transfer request after this point will be treated as a cancellation and the transfer fee will not be accepted.
28. You cannot transfer from an expedition for which the deposit is more than £400. You cannot transfer a booking from an expedition to a course.
29. You may transfer your place on the trip to another individual in accordance with these terms and conditions for an administration fee of £100, as long as that individual matches or exceeds the requirements of the trip in terms of previous experience and has completed all appropriate paperwork.
30. You may transfer your booking more than once, as long as you pay the transfer fee on each separate occasion, at the rate prevailing at the time of payment, and pay any costs incurred by the Company in respect of each booking held. The final trip to which your original deposit is transferred must start within 18 months of the start date of the trip originally booked. Failure to travel within this time will be taken as a cancellation of the original booking, regardless of the payment of any transfer fees or costs in the intervening period. Under such circumstances, the deposit and any money paid to affect a transfer, or transfers, will be forfeited.
31. The Company receives regular travel advice from the United Kingdom Foreign Office (the ‘FO’) and will not knowlingly in contravention of such advice. In the event of civil unrest in a particular region, the Company undertakes to inform clients of the situation as soon as it has knowledge of it.
32. Where the FO advises against “all but essential travel” to a country, province or region, it is for each person booking to read the relevant FO advice and to decide whether or not he or she wishes to travel and to be subject to the risks implied in the said travel advice. Anyone booking a trip that visits a country, province or region, to which the FO advises against “all but essential travel” must ensure the travel insurance on which he or she relies is valid notwithstanding the FO advice.
33. After a trip has been booked, if the FO advice changes for that trip to advise against “all but essential travel” and you cancel your place on the trip, the cancellation charges set out in these booking conditions will apply.
34. If the FO does not issue unambiguous advice against “all travel” to a country, province or region that would make the proposed itineary untenable, a disinclination to travel on the basis of a percieved threat or hazard, howsoever formed, will br interpreted as a cancellation and the charges set out in these booking conditions will apply. This does not effect your right to transfer between trips under the terms of these booking conditions.
35. A Trip may be cancelled or changed as a result of an event of Force Majeure, which are due to unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances. These include but are not limited to war, riot, industrial dispute, strike, terrorist activity, natural or nuclear disaster, fire, sickness, epidemics or health risks, closed or congested airports, ports or stations, changes imposed by re-scheduling or cancellation of transport, adverse weather conditions (whether actual or threatened) avalanche, storm, flood, typhoon, hurricane, fog or technical failure or unavoidable problems with any form of transport or facility or other untoward occurrences.
36. Anyone booked onto a trip which is cancelled by the Company as a result of conditions 34 or 35 will be entitled to (i) a partial refund amounting to the land only price less any non-recoverable advanced payments made by the company or (ii) to transfer to another trip and no transfer fee will be payable. Should you transfer to another trip any difference in price will be invoiced or credited accordingly (iii) flights booked through the company will be refunded in line with the specific airlines cancellation conditions.
37. Very rarely, we may be forced by “force majeure” (see condition 35) to change or terminate your holiday after departure but before the scheduled end of your time away. This is extremely unlikely but if this situation does occur, we regret we will be unable to make any refunds (unless we obtain any refunds from our suppliers), pay you any compensation or meet any costs or expenses you incur as a result.
38. Non-UK Nationals should consult their own government for advice on travel to the destination country and all countries transited en route. The Company will not be bound by the advice of such foreign governments, nor will any of these booking conditions be waived, save where such advice coincides with the advice of the FO.
39. The Company reserves the right to cancel any expedition, trek, course or extension which does not have sufficient people taking part to make it financially viable. The Company will endeavour to ensure that a trip runs if at all possible. If your booking is likely to be cancelled under such circumstances, the Company undertakes to inform you as soon as possible; this may occur after the balance due date but will not occur less than 30 days before the Departure Date.
40. The trips and itineraries published in the literature and on the website are designed to be illustrative in order to best explain the scope and type of activities you will be undertaking. During a trip, every effort will be made to adhere to the planned itinerary but it must be realised that with adventurous activities of this type, or by being in the developing world, or by being in mountainous areas, or by visiting regions with limited infrastructure by virtue of their remoteness or otherwise, or with world-wide travel in general, changes to the itinerary will occur. As such, circumstances may arise where the Company are forced to alter dates, trip duration, flight schedules, trekking routes, mountains to be climbed, locations visited or hotel accommodation, either during or before a trip has commenced, possibly at short notice. Whilst the Company will try to inform you of any such changes as soon as they know of them, they accept no liability for, or the consequences of, any such changes. Should such conditions involve clients in extra costs such as accommodation, transportation and meals, such costs should be borne by the client.
41. In assessing the conditions expected to be encountered in the mountains or the abilities of the team members, the Expedition Leader or the Course Director (or Guides or Instructors with delegated authority) may decide to change any aspect of the trip if he or she believes that to continue with the itinerary or activities, or any latterly agreed alternatives, would place anyone at undue risk. Alternatively, he or she may make changes for the simple belief that such changes may be more enjoyable or better suited or beneficial for most of those taking part. The Leader of the Expedition or the Course Director will review and may alter the programme as the trip progresses in response to the changing influence of variable factors. Should such conditions involve clients in extra costs such as accommodation, transportation and meals, such costs should be borne by the client.
42. The Expedition Leader or Course Director (or Guides or Instructors with delegated authority) will do his or her utmost to ensure that any problems are solved for the benefit of the majority of those taking part. Signing the booking form signifies your acceptance of the Expedition Leader’s or Course Director’s authority to make decisions affecting the group or individuals. For instance, the Expedition Leader or Course Director may require an individual or individuals to leave the trip if he or she believes that a person, or a person’s health, is at risk, if an illegal act has been or may be committed, or behaviour or physical condition may become, or has been, detrimental to the safety, enjoyment or wellbeing of the group or of any individual within the group.
43. A client leaving a trip at any stage, for whatever reason, will not be entitled to any refund or to compensation.
44. Team/course/group sizes described in the brochure or on the website are target sizes and may be increased or decreased at the discretion of the Company. The Company gives no undertaking as to the minimum or maximum size of a team, course or group, but do undertake to ensure that Leaders, Guides, Instructors and support staff are supplied in appropriate numbers to ensure the principle objectives of the expedition or course can be achieved. Similarly, Leaders, Guides, Instructors and support staff named in tour descriptions, anywhere in the literature or on the website, may also be changed at any time. In the case of leader illness, the company reserves the right to use a local leader. For departures of small numbers of people, we reserve the right to use an English speaking local trip leader.
45. Most trips involve going to high-altitude and carry an inherent risk of altitude illness. Similarly, most trips visit remote locations or poorly developed regions where infrastructure is limited. In such places, the risks to health are increased and the ability to treat injury or illness effectively is reduced. Additionally, anything that involves crossing glaciated terrain or snow-bound passes, are hazardous activities with a risk of serious injury or death. By signing these booking conditions you acknowledge these hazards and your acceptance of the associated risks.
46. Most trips, especially expeditions, have days in the itinerary that are included to provide flexibility in case of bad weather, or some other untoward event, and thereby increase the chance of the principle objective being achieved and for the trip to be successful. If these days are not needed in order to achieve the aims of the trip and the team/ course /group decides to return (for instance) from the mountains to a valley location earlier than planned, any additional costs incurred and associated with extra hotel nights, or services that would not otherwise have been provided nor were included in the published itinerary, must be met by each individual concerned at the time.
47. For all trips outside the United Kingdom, you must have adequate insurance cover for search, helicopter rescue and repatriation in the event of a medical emergency. Your travel insurance provider must agree beforehand to meet the costs of any search, rescue or recovery, for medical reasons, of you to the nearest appropriate medical facility even if prior authorization from the insurer may not be possible due to the remoteness of the recovery area or because medical expediency demands your recovery before such authorization could be received.
48. In case of a suspected or confirmed emergency involving you or the group of which you are a member, the Company reserves the right to arrange (or to make arrangements for its or your insurers to arrange) search, rescue and recovery as it deems appropriate and reasonable. You agree to indemnify the Company and keep the Company indemnified from all losses, apportioned appropriately to you, arising from any such search, any such helicopter usage and any resulting repatriation, for medical or non-medical reasons, including legal costs of making a recovery against you.
49. Neither the Company nor any of their representatives will be responsible for any illness, injury or death sustained on their trip except where such illness, injury or death is caused by negligence or that of their representatives, nor will they be liable for any uninsured loss of personal property.
50. You will be provided with a list of all equipment required to bring on to the trip. You may hire some items of equipment from the Company. The majority you must provide yourself. It is your responsibility to ensure that all equipment is fit for purpose prior to the Departure Date and for the duration of the trip. You are responsible for your equipment and belongings during the trip and bear the sole responsibility for wear and tear and incidental damage to your equipment. The Company recommend that you take out adequate insurance to cover your own equipment, and any items hired from the Company as you will be liable for its replacement should it be damaged or lost.
51. In the event that you elect to hire any equipment from the Company, you will be required to pay a deposit to the Company in addition to the applicable hire charges. Deposits are not collected for equipment hired or made available to you when participating on a course, as the equipment will be issued and collected back from you at the course venue.
52. You will be responsible for any hired equipment throughout the trip and in the event that it is not returned to the Company within 7 days of the last day of the trip in good and clean condition (excluding normal wear and tear) the deposit, if paid, shall be forfeited and you agree to indemnify the Company and keep the Company indemnified from all losses arising from damage to the equipment including legal costs of making a recovery against you.
53. If you have any problem during the trip, you must immediately inform your trip leader or our overseas representative who will use all reasonable efforts to remedy it. You must allow time for the leader to make adjustments or consult with the Adventure Peaks office in the UK. If you remain dissatisfied, you must make full details of the complaint known to us in writing within 28 days of the end of your holiday. Please keep your letter precise and to the point.
54. If you fail to follow this simple complaints procedure, the company will have been deprived of the opportunity to investigate and rectify your complaint whilst you are in-country and this may affect your rights under this contract as you will have failed to have minimised your losses and will be unable to recover compensation you may otherwise have been entitled to for this element of your trip.
55. Having made every effort to ensure correctness of trip information and supporting materials, we cannot be held responsible for any inaccuracies.
56. The Company shall ensure that appropriate security measures are in place to protect your personal data as defined by the General Data Protection Regulaions (GDPR). When you make a booking, you consent to all the information you provide being passed on to the Company’s suppliers, agents, sub-contractors, employees or volunteers whether based inside or outside the UK for the purpose of our providing you with the trip.
57. By agreeing to these booking conditions, you consent to the Company’s staff taking photographs and/or video footage of you during the trip and that these images may be used by the Company for publicity and training purposes including, but not limited to, in brochures, websites material and in the media. Photos and video footage supplied by you or other team members may also be used as described above.

SAFETY WARNING

Mountaineering and Trekking can be dangerous and carry an inherent risk of injury or death, which cannot be eliminated. You must accept that, although we do our utmost to reduce risk, there always remains a chance of accidents happening. Our leaders will continually make decisions about prevailing snow conditions, the weather and the ability of individuals and the group with safety in mind. They will make professional judgements to minimise the risk of objective dangers such as avalanche, ice-fall or stone-fall and weather, but these risks cannot always be predicted nor removed whilst in the mountains. All mountaineering and trekking at high altitude involves risks of altitude illness. Whilst our expeditions and treks have an appropriate acclimatisation period this cannot entirely remove the dangers of altitude as individuals acclimatise at different rates and the symptoms can be unpredictable. Severe cases necessitate descent and, in extreme cases death can occur.

21st April 2024