Terms and Conditions

GENERAL

1. Definitions:

“Trips” refers to all guided journeys and instruction courses.
The “Date of Departure” refers to the date that all participants and the guide/instructor are to first meet in-person for a scheduled trip, which may be earlier than the first day of the journey or course.
The “Date of Confirmation” is 30 days prior to the date of departure, and is the date we confirm how many participants will be taking part in an advertised trip.
The “Standard Price” of any particular trip is either (a) for guided journeys or private instruction courses: the cost charged per person for that trip if there are two to three participants; or (b) for advertised instruction courses: the cost as shown on the Courses page of our website.
“We/Us” refers to Robert Graham Frost trading as Mountain Journeys.
“You/yourself” refers to a participant on a trip.
“Frustration of Contract” is either when a trip cannot occur, or when you are unable to join the trip, in either case because of unforeseeable circumstances beyond the control of both parties, such as extreme weather events blocking transport routes, or pandemic-related travel restrictions.
Circumstances causing a frustration of contract are referred to as an “Event.”
“Postponement” refers to a situation where we reschedule a trip for reasons not relating to frustration of contract, such as guide illness.

2. Booking a trip with us does not guarantee that a particular location will be visited, as several factors will dictate what will be safe for each particular party and for the weather forecast/conditions. For any trip, the weather forecast, avalanche conditions, or any other safety consideration may indicate that the intended location will not be viable, in which case we will decide an alternative location(s) where the trip can take place. A change of trip location by us does not constitute cancellation.

3. If you provide us with false information about yourself (including but not limited to fitness, experience, abilities, personal equipment to be provided by you, medical conditions, injuries and physical condition), and a trip you participate in is consequently altered to the detriment of other participants’ experiences, you may be removed from the trip and will be liable for any costs involved related to (a) logistical changes, (b) actions taken to remove you from the trip, and (c) discretionary reimbursement to other participants from us, to be determined by us.

PAYMENT SCHEDULE AND CANCELLATION POLICY

4. For guided journeys we advertise that you wish to join, a deposit of 80% of the Standard Price for that trip (see Clause 1) is required in order to secure your space on the trip on a first-in-first-served basis. Expressions of interest are not treated as confirmed bookings without payment of the deposit.

5. For instruction courses we advertise that you wish to join, full payment is required in order to secure your space on the trip on a first-in-first-served basis. Expressions of interest are not treated as confirmed bookings without full payment.

6. For private trips you wish to book with us, full payment is required in order to secure the required dates in our calendar. Expressions of interest are not treated as confirmed bookings without full payment. A date change to a trip by you constitutes cancellation and rebooking subject to availability.

7. [For advertised guided journeys only; not relevant to instruction courses or private trips.] On the date of confirmation, we will confirm the final cost of the trip, which will be based on the total number of confirmed trip participants on that date. This will determine any balance owed by you. If there are two or three confirmed participants on the date of confirmation, the trip will cost the Standard Price per person and the balance owed will be the Standard Price minus any deposit already paid. If there are four or more confirmed participants on the date of confirmation, the trip will cost 80% of the Standard Price per person (i.e. the same as the deposit) and no balance needs to be paid.

8. For commercial trips requiring the services of Mountain Journeys, a deposit of either $10,000 or 50% of the expected guiding fees (whichever is lesser) is required to secure the required dates in our calendar.

9. If you cancel for any reason (including illness or injury), you may be eligible for a refund depending on the date you inform us of the cancellation. Refunds are calculated as follows:

If you cancel at least 90 days before the date of departure, you will be refunded 75% of any monies paid by you for the relevant trip.
If you cancel less than 90 days but at least 30 days before the date of departure, you will be refunded 50% of any monies paid by you for the relevant trip.
If you cancel 14 to 29 days before the date of departure, you will be refunded 25% of any monies paid by you for the relevant trip.
If you cancel less than 14 days before the date of departure, no refund is due. However, in cases of genuine misfortune on your part, we may approve the transfer of up to 50% of any monies paid by you to go towards another trip with us, at our discretion.

CURTAILMENT OR POSTPONEMENT

10. Curtailment of a trip due to weather, conditions, or any of the party experiencing illness, injury, or any other safety-related reason as determined by us, will not entitle you to any refund.

11. Curtailment of a trip due to the party being notified of the unexpected death or serious illness of a participant’s next of kin will be treated as per Clause 17.

12. If a trip is postponed by us (excluding situations relating to Frustration of Contract) and the new dates do not work for you, we will provide you with a full refund of all monies so far paid by you to us.

13. If we notify you on or prior to the date of confirmation that a trip is postponed, and the new dates work for you, you will not receive any refund.

14. If we notify you after the date of confirmation that a trip is postponed, and the new dates work for you, we will provide you with a refund equivalent to 10% of the value of the trip up to a maximum of NZ$300, to assist you with re-booking travel.

FRUSTRATION OF CONTRACT

15. If an event occurs before the date of departure, and the trip will or may be impacted by the event, we will either cancel or reschedule the trip. If we cancel the trip due to an event, or if we reschedule the trip due to an event and the new dates do not work for you, we will refund you 50% of all monies so far paid by you to us. If the trip is rescheduled due to an event and the new dates work for you, it will be treated as a postponement and Clauses 13 and 14 will apply.

16. If an event occurs before the date of departure, and you are unable to join the trip due to the event, the trip may still proceed with other participants, or it may cancelled or rescheduled. If the trip still proceeds without you, we will refund you 50% of all monies so far paid by you to us. If the trip is cancelled or rescheduled as a result of you not being able to join the trip, it will be treated as per Clause 15.

17. If an event occurs on or after the date of departure, resulting in curtailment of the trip, the number of days between the first day of the journey or course and the day that notification of the event is received will be considered the “New Trip Length.” The difference in value will be determined between the originally scheduled trip and a trip of the new trip length, using rates as shown on the Mountain Journeys website at the time. That will be referred to as the “Value Difference.” You will be offered the choice of either (a) a credit for future Mountain Journeys trips equal to 100% of the value difference, or (b) a refund of 50% of the value difference, to be paid to you by us.

COVID-19 & OTHER CONTAGIOUS DISEASES

18. Face masks and vaccine passes are not required. We will rely on your honesty to assess your potential exposure to Covid-19 or any other contagious disease over the days and weeks leading up to the trip start – you must inform us of any symptoms or potential exposure to positive cases over the two weeks leading up to the Date of Departure. If we assess your participation in the trip will place a significant health risk to the guides or other participants, you will need to cancel. Our assessment will be made using current official health guidelines.

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Payment for all trips is in NZD can be made via online transfer:

Name: Mountain Journeys, Account Number: 38 9007 0291526 12

Bank: Kiwibank, Swift Code: KIWINZ22XXX

If you are overseas, you can pay via our online portal instead of using a bank transfer.