Svalbard booking policy
Payment and booking conditions fine print
A deposit (approx. one-third, 30% of $6700, by July 1; two-thirds, 60% of $6700, by September 1; and the final payment, 10% of $6700, February 1, 2024 to secure your place is due upon booking. You will be invoiced for your payments after you have confirmed your interest in the trip. Please note that all payments are absolutely non-refundable. Currency fluctuations and unforeseen expenses may slightly change the final cost of our trip.
You may consider paying with a credit card if you have a card with trip cancellation insurance. We charge an additional 3.5% fee for card transactions. If your credit card provides you with cancellation insurance for this trip indicate this on your registration form and we will lower the convenience fee to 2%. Cancelled trips that have cancellation insurance are much less of a headache for everyone. Please consider this option. It could be a very affordable way to protect yourself. But look carefully into your credit card’s fine print to make sure this trip is covered.
We generally avoid credit-card payments, as they deduct 3.5% from the trip fee, which adds up over the course of our season. If, though, you’d like to use a credit card, let us know and we can add a “product” to our website with a 3.5% (or 2% in the event of obtaining trip insurance via your card) add-on to offset the CC fee.
All fees paid are 100% non-refundable. We cannot be held liable for cancellations of any kind. Therefore we strongly recommend that you purchase trip cancellation insurance. Squaremouth.com is an online site that compares travel insurance providers. Note that many credit cards carry trip insurance for trips paid with the credit card — contact your credit card company to be sure. Read the fine print carefully and make sure your policy covers you for more expensive trips, pandemics, and any force majeure.
Our boat company requires that you purchase evacuation insurance in the event there is an emergency during your trip. The American Alpine Club offers different insurance policies for its members—give them a look. The Austrian Alpine Club does as well, even for non-Austrians, as does Global Rescue. Please carefully review the policies and make sure you are covered above the Arctic Circle, for marine rescues, and trip interruption/cancellation for pandemics and any force majeure.
Many of our trips are in remote locations. If you are injured or develop an emergency medical condition that requires evacuation, significant costs may be involved. We cannot be liable for the costs of emergency evacuation and so you are therefore encouraged to sign up for third party rescue insurance. The most robust plan we know if is through Global Rescue Services which services all areas we run trips to including Svalbard. You may choose to go with another but be warned that there are often exclusions that will render your insurance worthless when you need it. Global Rescue membership is approx. $119 USD for a one-week trip — and it should cover you, but double-check before purchasing.
You must sign our liability waiver in order to register for participation in our trips. You can view a printable copy the waiver HERE. We also request a bit of pertinent medical and fitness information, too—you may complete that questionnaire HERE. These documents remain private between you and Vetta Mountain Guides. If you have any questions about the waiver or questionnaire please talk to your lawyer and/or let me know prior to registration so I can help you.
The application form collects personal information which we use to make sure that we provide you with the best possible trip experience. If you do not want to answer any of the questions or you are unsure about anything leave it blank and/or contact me for clarification.
READ CAREFULLY – BOOKING, RESERVATION, DEPOSIT: A deposit of 30% of the total price is due with your booking unless otherwise indicated. Please provide us with your credit card details, do a bank transfer (account information on demand to our European account), or send an E-transfer. Final payments are due on February 1, 2024. If you wish to pay in a currency other than what our trips are quoted in, please inquire with us for a quote in your preferred denomination. We also accept bookings from minors; however we do require the signature of BOTH parents or ALL legal guardians on both, reservation form and liability waiver.
CONFIRMATION / TRIP INFORMATION: Upon receipt of the booking form with your check or credit card details we confirm your booking. Each Backcountry Ski Trip we offer has a detailed Information Package (available on our website) with the trip details, equipment list, proposed itinerary and logistics, etc. Read through this carefully before completing your registration.
TRIP (CANCELLATION / MEDICAL / EVACUATION / THEFT) INSURANCE: Once we confirm your booking, we enter into financial obligations on our side and we cannot refund payments or release you from your contractual obligations. Therefore, we highly recommend buying cancellation insurance to cover your losses for the case that you can’t participate or have to interrupt your trip “for any reason”. Also, all participants need to have internationally accepted health insurance for all activities pertaining to the trip, including coverage for emergency rescue and evacuation. If you already have insurance, please make sure that you will be covered for “roped travel” booking a technical trip including “Via Ferrata” trips. We gladly refer you to a travel insurance provider who offers “adventure travel insurance packages” and with whom our clients have had positive claims experiences in the past. Generally, you will receive the best benefits if you buy your insurance within 10 days of our booking confirmation.
CANCELLATIONS: If you need to cancel a reservation, please do so in writing (best by e-mail). Please see the trip information package for details on your trip’s Cancellation Policy.
CANCELLED PROGRAMS: Once we confirm your booking, we guarantee your trip departure. However, we do reserve the right to change guides, particular lodging or the itinerary should unforeseen circumstances (guide sickness, hut or route closing, etc.) force us to do so or should the physical condition of the participants (see below), weather or mountain conditions make a continuation as planned too risky. We will attempt to reschedule the trip if at all possible.
PERSONAL FITNESS and GROUP TRAVEL: Our programs rely heavily on the integrity of each individual to assess his or her skill level and physical condition accurately. It is the responsibility of each participant to be aware of the necessary skill and fitness level for a particular trip. When in doubt, please call and discuss this with us! For the protection of yourself and other group members, we reserve the right to deny participation to any unprepared participant at any time of the trip, in which case we cannot offer a refund! In order to accommodate diverse levels of ability and ambition, as well as diverse personalities, the decision-making of the guide has to be geared towards safety and finding a consensus within the whole group, which may not please each individual participant at all times.