Updated August 15, 2023.

The following terms and conditions apply to all tours and expeditions (hereafter “trips”) offered by 40 Tribes Backcountry Adventures LLC.

PRICES

All prices are in US Dollar (USD). Some prices as advertised are based on the previous year and are subject to change without notice. Price changes will be communicated as far in advance as possible prior to balances being due. If you have already paid your balance—i.e. paid in full—you will not be subject to any changes.

BOOKING PROCEDURE

An initial deposit (20% of trip cost) is required to secure your spot.* That spot will be held and guaranteed so long as no concerns regarding appropriateness/compatibility arise during the registration process. Registration will begin only after we have filled the necessary number of spots needed to run the trip. In most cases, this is 5 spots. Our online registration form is how we collect personal information, details about your travel and mountain experience, and present need-to-know information about the trip, including arrival/departure requirements, visa requirements (if any), insurance recommendations/requirements, etc. Via the registration form, you will additionally be required to read and voluntarily agree to our Release of Liability and Waiver of Legal Rights. Additional emails and/or forms will be used to collect your personal travel details, insurance information and medical history.

By paying a deposit and completing the registration form, you are entering into a legally-binding agreement with 40 Tribes Backcountry Adventures LLC.

*If you begin the booking process less than 4 months prior to the trip start date, payment in full is required to secure your spot.

FLIGHTS

Airfare to/from the destination country or designated meet up point (Mystery Trip) is not included in the trip cost. You are responsible for arranging your own flights per our specific arrival/departure requirements. We ask that you wait to book flights, purchase insurance, and make any other preparations for the trip until after your registration form is confirmed received and reviewed by our administrative staff. Any complications that arise from booking flights and making other arrangements before we give the green light will be your own responsibility.

BALANCES

Balances are due 4 months prior to trip start. We will request balance payments and send instructions for paying balances by email. Balances not paid by the due date will incur a fee of 0.5% the amount due every day thereafter.

CANCELLATIONS AND REFUNDS

Please see here for our cancellation and refund policies.

COVID-19

The following information on entry and re-entry requirements is from 2021/22 and represents a time of heightened travel restrictions. Most countries have since loosened restrictions and requirements. We are simply leaving this information here in case of a resurgence of the pandemic and a return to tighter restrictions.

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS

While entry requirements are country-specific, the overall trend is that proof of full vaccination is required for entry to most countries. For this reason, we are very strongly encouraging all clients to get vaccinated. Some countries are additionally/alternatively requiring proof of a negative PCR test result received within a specific timeframe (e.g. 72 hours or 3 calendar days) prior to your flight’s departure. There are obvious risks to relying only on a negative PCR test result, and in the event of related complications, your trip may be jeopardized.

RE-ENTRY REQUIREMENTS

Your home country may have re-entry requirements, such as a negative PCR test result received within a specific timeframe. It is your responsibility to research and understand these requirements, and to budget any additional time that may be required in-country to meet them. Increasingly, testing facilities are being set up in international airports, which may be a solution so long as you plan enough time to secure your result before or between flights. While we will not be able to schedule testing prior to your departure, we will work with our partners to obtain and distribute information on available testing options/facilities before you book your flights.

Regardless of your vaccination status, the following terms and conditions apply to ALL 2023/24 BOOKINGS:

40 TRIBES IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR:

Changing travel restrictions/sudden or last-minute border closures
Changing airline regulations that may impact your travel
Unforeseen issues that prevent any of our guides from successfully traveling to or entering the destination country
Unforeseen instances of our guides contracting COVID-19 and therefore being unable to fulfill contractual obligations
Failure of clients to meet or pass country-specific entry requirements
- All costs associated with testing, quarantine and adjusted travel itineraries, if required, are the responsibility of the client
Failure of clients to meet or pass re-entry requirements into their home country
- Researching and understanding re-entry requirements is the responsibility of the client, as is ensuring enough extra time in-country or at the airport to fulfill testing requirements
- Making the necessary arrangements to obtain testing is the responsibility of the client
- All costs associated with testing for re-entry, if required, is the responsibility of the client
Contraction of COVID-19 during travel or during the trip
- Clients may be asked to get tested and/or suspend their participation in the trip if showing signs and symptoms known to be associated with COVID-19, and must immediately wear masks and socially distance per known guidance
- All costs associated with early departures/testing/quarantine is the responsibility of the client

TRAVEL DOCUMENTS

It is your responsibility to make sure that your passport, visa (if required), and any other travel documents, such as proof of COVID-19 vaccination and/or negative PCR test result—as required by the destination country—are in order before departure. On certain trips and where required, we will liaise with our partners to produce the documentation necessary for applying for your visa (official letter of invitation, confirmed travel itinerary, etc). In these cases, we will provide you with the necessary documents with ample time for submitting your application and receiving your visa. We cannot, however, accept responsibility for any decisions, actions, or delays that result in you not being granted your visa or not being granted your visa on time.

GENERAL RESPONSIBILITIES AND REQUIREMENTS

By booking a trip with us, you confirm that you meet any stated requirements and are of ability and fitness levels appropriate for multi-day tours in the backcountry. You also agree to provide your own touring and avalanche safety equipment as well as any other required equipment as communicated by email or via trip-specific packing list. Basic mountaineering experience such as climbing in boot crampons and using an ice axe may be recommended or even required if indicated on the trip page under “Availability & Requirements/Experience.”

HEALTH REQUIREMENTS

It is your responsibility to determine your own medical and physical health/capability or other qualifications or suitability for participating in a trip. Any medical problems or physical/mental concerns of note must be disclosed in our Participant Medical Form. In the case of any significant problems or concerns, we will require that a doctor formally clears your participation.

INSURANCE

Our trip cost does not include emergency medical/evacuation insurance or trip cancellation/interruption insurance of any kind. Given that of all of our trips occur in remote locations where there are extremely limited emergency resources and substandard medical facilities, medevac insurance is strongly recommended (and required by our partners in some cases). Your insurance should cover the costs of your emergency medical care including search and rescue, onward transportation between medical facilities, and ideally, repatriation back to your home country for specialized care. It is also important that you double check that the insurer covers “extreme sports” activities such as backcountry skiing and ski mountaineering.

Global Rescue is a US-based company and partner of 40 Tribes that specializes in global medical evacuations and covers aforementioned activities. If you want to pick up a short term policy, you can learn more about their capabilities and enroll here.

In addition to medevac insurance, we strongly recommend that you enroll in a short term travel insurance/trip protection policy that will provide coverage in the event that some unforeseen issue impacts your trip. Global Rescue also offers a travel insurance supplement.

You must provide us with requested insurance details prior to your trip.

MOUNTAIN WEATHER AND SNOW CONDITIONS

Mountain weather is unpredictable and is a constant factor that shapes the decisions we make before and during our trips. We cannot guarantee weather or snow conditions, nor can we guarantee that a particular objective, if mentioned in the trip advertisement (such as a peak or route), will be possible. We can guarantee that we will do everything in our power to provide the best experience with the conditions and safety considerations faced at that time.

FORCE MAJEURE

Except where otherwise expressly stated in these terms and conditions, we cannot accept liability or pay any compensation where the performance or prompt performance of contractual obligations are prevented or affected by "Force Majeure" (that is: any event which 40 Tribes Backcountry Adventures LLC or partners could not, even with due care, foresee or avoid). Such events may include: war, threat of war, terrorist activity, civil unrest, natural or man-made disaster, pandemic, epidemic, adverse weather, avalanche, fire, and all similar events that fall under the legal term “Act of God.”

PERMISSION TO PHOTOGRAPH/VIDEO RECORD

By booking a trip with us, you give our guides, volunteers and partners full permission to photograph and/or video record your participation, and further give 40 Tribes Backcountry Adventures LLC full permission to publish any photographs or video recordings taken of you for any promotional purpose.