Policies
Quick Links
- Cancellation Policies
- Trip Insurance
- Cancel for Any Reason Insurance
- International Trips
- Participant Policy
- Backcountry Passes
- Frog Lake Huts
- Covid-19 Policies
- Wildfire Smoke Policy
- FAQs
- Early Season Guarantee
Cancellation Policies
WE RECOMMEND PURCHASING TRIP INSURANCE TO PROTECT YOUR PURCHASE FROM UNFORSEEABLE CIRCUMSTANCES.
We are a small business, and our policy exists to support our customers, staff and guide team.
If you are unable to attend your program for any reason, we are unable to refund you, reschedule you or provide credit for future trips beyond what is described in our policies below. If you cannot afford to lose the trip fees due to an unforeseen accident, injury, road conditions, sickness, natural disaster, lightning strike, or ANY other reason, please consider buying trip insurance. We cannot assume the financial burden for participants who are unable to attend for any reason.
Rescheduling
Rescheduling a trip is considered a cancellation and is subject to the same policies as cancellation.
Domestic Trips
- We recommend purchasing trip insurance for ALL domestic trips.
- If you wish to cancel your trip for any reason, a request must be made in writing via email.
- Cancellation Time Prior to Trip Dates:
- Over 60 Days: Full refund of trip fees and Trip Deposit minus 10% administrative fee.
- 31-59 Days: 50% refund of the trip fees.
- Within 30 Days: NO REFUND can be made.
- Trip Insurance can be purchased to help cover the trip fee and other costs covered under the policy.
- Some custom domestic trips for large groups may be subject to the "International Trips" Cancellation Policy. If this policy applies, it will be stated in the booking confirmation.
- “Rescheduling” a trip is considered a cancellation and is subject to the same policies as cancellation.
Frog Lake Huts
- We recommend purchasing trip insurance for Frog Lake Huts Trips.
- If you cancel your trip more than 60 days before your trip begins, we will refund the full amount less a 10% administrative fee. If you cancel 60 days or less from when your trip begins, we will not be able to issue a refund of any amount.
- Porters for Frog Lake Huts. We respect our guides and porters time and schedules. Once a porter is booked, we commit to pay them for the dates booked. If you wish to cancel the service with less than 21 days notice, we are unable to provide a refund.
International Trips (including Canada)
- Trip Insurance is REQUIRED FOR ALL INTERNATIONAL TRIPS and must have the following minimum limits for foreign travel:
- Evacuation and Repatriation Coverage: $250,000
- Medical Coverage: $50,000
- If you wish to cancel your trip for any reason, a request must be made in writing via email.
- Cancellation Time Prior to Trip Dates:
- 180 Days: Full refund of trip fees and Trip Deposit minus 10% administrative fee.
- 91-179 Days: 50% refund of the trip fees.
- Within 90 Days: NO REFUND can be made.
- “Rescheduling” a trip is considered a cancellation and is subject to the same policies as cancellation.
Trip Deposits
- Trip deposits are Non-Refundable. On some trips we use trip deposits to secure logistics for domestic and international trips. Committing to logistics can often incurs non-refundable costs and we must retain the trip deposits to cover these costs.
Trip Insurance
Trip Insurance is REQUIRED FOR ALL INTERNATIONAL and RECOMMENDED FOR DOMESTIC TRIPS.
Trip Insurance may cover a wide variety of unforeseeable circumstances that might make it impossible for you to participate in a trip. If you cannot afford to lose the Trip Fee, Trip Deposit, or other associated costs, please research and purchase trip insurance that will cover you adequately.
International Trips must have the following minimum limits:
- Evacuation and Repatriation Coverage: $250,000
- Medical Coverage: $50,000
- Travelex Select and World Nomads Explorer are plans that meets our Evacuation and Medical Coverage Requirements. Be sure to choose " Travelex SELECT" OR "World Nomads EXPLORER" options.
- If you choose another plan, please make sure that it MEETS THE REQUIREMENTS LISTED ABOVE. We cannot accept limits below the minimums listed above.
Domestic Trips
- We recommended trip insurance for all domestic programs.
- Purchase the plan the best meets your needs.
- Consider "Cancel for Any Reason" Plans that can cover wider range of circumstances.
- World Nomads Explorer Plan has worked well for customers for many circumstances, including trips cancelled by Blackbird Mountain Guides due to extreme weather, but please make sure that you understand the policy you're buying and are covered for any circumstances that might affect your trip, including cancellations by Blackbird Mountain Guides.
Where to Buy Trip Insurance
Regardless of which plan you purchase, make sure you have adequate coverage.
- Travelex Select Insurance*
- World Nomads
- travelinsurance.com
Cancel for Any Reason Insurance
In many states, "Cancel for any Reason" insurance provides partial coverage for trip fees, airfare and other non-refundable trip costs and might be a good way to cover yourself against changing plans or other unforeseen circumstances.
Cancellations Made By Blackbird Mountain Guides
- Blackbird Mountain Guides reserves the right to cancel or reschedule trips for any reason. These reasons include inadequate sign-ups (under-booked trip), guide injuries, or other unforeseen circumstances. Participants who have signed up for an under-booked trip will be given the option of making it a private trip for an additional cost, given credit to apply to another trip, or be refunded in full.
- No refunds can be given due to weather, environmental conditions or other unforeseen circumstances beyond our control that causes a trip to be cancelled. These events include: severe weather, political unrest, health pandemics, airline/transportation strikes, etc.
- In the event of unforeseen circumstances beyond our control, we reserve the right to reschedule, alter the trip's itinerary, or cancel the trip. Trip cancellation is the last resort and every effort will be made to run the trip in some facility.
- WE OPERATE TRIPS IN INCLEMENT WEATHER! Do not expect a trip to be cancelled due to weather. Unless we specifically cancel the trip, please assume the trip will run regardless of weather. It is your responsibility to plan accordingly and arrive at the program venue on time. California and Washington State have severe weather that can make travel extremely difficult. It is up to you to make sure that you can make it to our trips ON TIME. No refund can be issued for participants who are unable to attend or who cause a major disruption to the program itinerary due to tardiness.
Early Season Guarantee
- We want to make sure you feel comfortable booking an AIARE avalanche course in the early season with Blackbird. Early season courses can offer many benefits over programs later in the season and we want you to understand that we're committed to providing the learning outcomes you need, regardless of the snowpack.
- If we determine we cannot meet the learning objectives of our avalanche courses based on lack of snow coverage, we'll help you reschedule a later date that works for you!
- All skiing and skiing-based courses are subject to snow conditions and the Early Season Guarantee is not a guarantee of "good skiing conditions." We will make sure that there is enough snow coverage to adequately cover the learning outcomes of the field-based portions of the program.
Participant Policy
Blackbird has a policy in place to ensure that programs are able to run if they hit a minimum number of participants, and what clients can do if they find themselves in an underbooked program (i.e. a program that does not meet min. number of participant threshold)
All Courses:
- Includes AIARE, Intro To..., and any courses listed on our Courses Page
- Must have a minimum of 3 participants to run.
- Capped at a maximum of 6 participants (except WFA/WFR which can be >6 participants)
All Adventures (Alpine, Rock, Ski):
- Must have a minimum of 2 participants to run. Some trips require 3 participants as specified on the program page Overview tab.
- Maximum number of participants varies according to max. clients to guide ratio for a particular trip or route.
Our programs generally all reach our minimum number of participants to run. However, occasionally we do have fewer than the minimum number of participants signed up for a particular date and thus need to cancel a program.
If we are under the minimum group size and a program is at risk of being canceled, we will notify clients 7-9 days in advance. It is very common for programs to fill up with a week or two before a programs' planned start date. Clients who are contacted due to their program being underbooked will be given the opportunity to:
- Find a friend to add to the program to reach minimum group size
- Reschedule to a program date which already has enough participants to run
- Receive a refund if neither of the above options is possible
Backcountry Passes
Backcountry Passes include, but are not limited to
- Avy Passes
- Tahoe Backcountry Pass
- Ski Mountaineering Passes
- Any program that bundles individual component programs together
Backcountry Passes provide access to book a number of separate, but related programs that provide an experience that is similar to a season pass at a ski resort. Unlike a season pass, participants choose the dates they want for each program ahead of time to secure program.
- Once an individual "component" program of the pass has been booked, our normal cancellation policies apply to that component program.
- Backcountry Passes are good for the season that they are purchased for. Unused portions of a pass will be forfeited, and we are unable to apply credit for them to a subsequent season.
Covid-19 Policies
Overnight trips with shared indoor space (Lodges & Huts)
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All clients and guides must be fully vaccinated and be up to date on getting booster shots (when eligible). Up to date means you have received the latest booster within six months of your trip. Review our guidelines here and make sure that you agree and comply with the terms before signing up for a program:
Covid-19 Guidelines for Participants and Guides
- We'll ask you to submit a QR-Code to verify your Covid-19 Vaccination status. Please consult the following resources to obtain your QR-Code if you don't already have one:
Day trips
- We are not requiring vaccination.
Overnight Camping Trips (no communal indoor space)
- We are not requiring vaccination.
- Participants who do not wish to share a tent with another participant should contact us regarding options for their program.
Wildfire Smoke Policy
In some cases, poor air quality from wildfire smoke might warrant the need to issue a refund or offer a credit for your trip. We will do so under the following conditions when the Air Quality Index (AQI) gets within a certain level:
AQI 151-200 |
If you have a pre-existing medical condition, we will reschedule or issue a credit. |
AQI 201-300 |
If you don’t want to climb in the smoke, we will reschedule or issue a credit |
AQI >301 |
As this AQI is considered unsafe, we will cancel the activity for the day and issue a credit. Refunds can be requested as necessary. |
Leave No Trace
Guides and clients are expected to follow Leave No Trace principles when participating in our courses or future trips. Learn more about Leave No Trace principles here.
FAQs
Here are some of our most Frequently Asked Questions.
Conditions range widely in the backcountry, from not enough snow to too much snow, hard snow to soft snow. The weather could be rainy, snowy, sunny or windy. We will hold our courses as long as we have the conditions to meet the learning outcomes of our programs. There is never a perfect time to take an avalanche course and on the same token there is never a bad time as long as we can accomplish the learning outcomes of the course. There are always learning opportunities to be had and the conditions in our courses will reflect the conditions in the backcountry!
Gear is a major consideration on all backcountry skiing, mountaineering and climbing trips. Make sure you have the appropriate gear for your program by checking the "Equipment" Tab on the booking page. The equipment list and gear guide will provide a detailed checklist for your program, with specific examples of each piece of gear so that you understand what to bring.
We are working on updating this section. In the meantime, please feel free to reach out to info@blackbirdguides.com with any questions you may have.