TERMS & CONDITIONS

 

KNOWLEDGE OF CONDITIONS: When booking, it is implied and accepted that you have read and understood all these booking conditions and agree to abide by them. The Company, on taking the reservation, covenants and agrees to fulfil its obligations as herein provided.

BOOKINGS: All bookings are made with WhiteFox Adventures (from now on referred to as the Tour Operator), whose registered office is 672 Campora St. Esquel, Chubut, 9200. Argentina. Here, it sets forth its operating conditions for providing tourist services. To start booking a place, complete and send the online Booking Form using the Tour Operator’s website. Once your booking form has been received, the Tour Operator promptly submit a questionnaire to know your previous experience, a medical declaration and how to make your deposit. Once the required deposit is received, the Tour Operator will confirm your booking by email.

MEDICAL DECLARATION: You must notify the Tour Operator via the medical declaration of any medical problems or disabilities so that you can be advised of the suitability of the Trip, health and safety considerations and what if any, reasonable adjustments are required. The Tour Operator reserves the right to decline or cancel a booking without having to pay any compensation if any medical problem or disability is disclosed after the medical declaration form is submitted but before the Departure Date. Any medical issue or limitation is not published, provided that in the Tour Operator’s belief, such medical problem or disability is likely to endanger your health and safety or the health and safety of anyone else participating in the Trip. The Tour Operator may require confirmation from a medical professional that you can travel and participate in the journey. You acknowledge and agree that concerning your medical welfare, the Tour Operator has a duty to you and the other participants and, as such, if the Tour Operator reasonably believes that you are not sufficiently fit to take part in the Trip, the Tour Operator may decline or cancel the booking at any time at their complete discretion.

PRICES – NO SURCHARGE GUARANTEE: The published cost of our trips and any products or services offered by the Tour Operator is expressed in American Dollars.

The price of our trips can change depending on various factors. However, unlike some other companies, the Tour Operator guarantees your Trip’s cost will not change after you have booked. The price when you book is the price you will pay. It applies on trips for the present season only. The cost can change if you cancel a journey from one season to the next. In that case, the Tour Operator will notify you immediately. Where the price increase is higher than 10% of the original cost of the applicable products or services, you may choose to either:

(a) cancel the relevant booking without incurring any penalty or
(b) accept the change of price.

DEPOSITS: When booking, a non-refundable deposit is required per person per Trip. If the reservation is made 60 days or less before departure, full payment is due at the time of booking. Specific products or services may require you to provide a higher or lesser deposit when booking. The Tour Operator will advise you of any such requirements before confirmation of the applicable booking.

FINAL PAYMENT & ACCEPTANCE OF BOOKING: The confirmation sent by the Tour Operator will contain details of the final payment required for any booking. Payment of the balance of the price for any products or services booked is due 60 days before the departure date of the first product or service included in the applicable booking. Suppose the appropriate due date still needs to receive full payment. In that case, the Tour Operator may, at its sole discretion, change the rate payable for the booking or treat it as cancelled and retain the deposit paid as a cancellation fee. Suppose a reservation is made less than 60 days before the departure date of the first product included in the applicable booking. In that case, the total amount must be paid when booking. Suppose payment terms differ from those outlined in this section for any product or service booked. In that case, the applicable conditions will be communicated to you before booking. They will also be detailed on the relevant invoice. The Tour Operator is not responsible for any charges levied by third parties or financial institutions and payable by you because of credit card or other payment transactions and will not refund or return any fees charged by third parties or financial institutions in connection with payments made by you to the Tour Operator.

CANCELLATION OF A TRIP BY THE TOUR OPERATOR: If the Tour Operator cancels a Trip before the date of departure for reasons other than Force Majeure and your fault or negligence do not cause the cancellation, you will have the choice of accepting from the Tour Operator:

(a) a substitute trip of equivalent or superior value or
(b) a substitute trip of lesser value if no trip of equivalent or superior value is reasonably available and to recover from the Tour Operator the difference in price between the price of the Trip initially purchased and the substitute trip; or
(c) a full refund of all monies paid for the cancelled Trip.

The Tour Operator is not responsible for any incidental expenses or consequential losses you incur due to the cancelled booking, including visas, vaccinations, non-refundable flights, etc.

CANCELLATION BY THE PASSENGER: You may cancel your booking by notifying the Tour Operator. Cancellation fees, if any, will be determined concerning the date on which notice of cancellation is received by the Tour Operator and are expressed as a percentage of the total price paid for the cancelled Trip, product, or service.

Cancellation of a trip:
(a) Cancellation received 60 days or more before departure of first service in relevant booking: The Tour Operator will refund 100% of the payments made to the Tour. Financial and tax costs incurred on the entire transaction will be deducted.
(b) Cancellation received 59-31 days before departure of first service in relevant booking: The Tour Operator will hold an amount equal to 50% of the payments made to the Tour. The other 50% will be refunded.
(c) Cancellation less than 30 days before departure of first product or service in relevant booking: The Tour Operator will hold the total payment, and no further refund will be payable.

EXPEDITIONS, NON-USED SERVICES: The trip’s price is quoted as a package. Therefore, no refund or compensation shall be given for non-use of specific services such as hotel stays, transportation or any other service included in the Trip and not used by the passenger.

EXPENSES DERIVING FROM ABANDONMENT OF JOURNEY: If you leave a trip once it has started, for whatever reason, you will not be entitled to a refund or compensation. All the services were taken by the passenger after that are on a private basis. These services will have an additional cost that the passenger shall pay because they are not included in the price. Even though the passenger will be allowed to use reserved hotel stays outside the dates scheduled for the whole group.

CHANGES MADE BY THE TOUR OPERATOR DURING THE TRIP: Daily itineraries and coordination details are considered objectives to be achieved, not contractual obligations. Every effort will be made to adhere to the published itinerary during a trip. However, with adventurous activities of this type, circumstances may arise where the Tour Operator is forced to alter dates, trip duration, flight schedules, routes, hotel accommodations and others. If changes are enforced before the Trip begins, the Tour Operator will try to inform you of them as soon as possible. If changes occur during the journey, the Leader guide or our local agent will notify you at that time. The Tour Operator accepts no liability for, or the consequences of, any such changes, howsoever caused. Furthermore, the Tour Operator shall not be held responsible for delays or alterations in the program due to (not exclusively) baggage loss with the airline, adverse weather conditions, any accidents suffered by mules, breakage of gear, flight cancellations, disease, wars, strikes, and any other act of God. The passenger shall bear any expense deriving from there.

GUIDES, RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS: The decisions taken by the Guide are final. Agreeing to these terms and conditions signifies your acceptance of a Guide’s authority to make decisions affecting the group or individuals on your booking trip. In assessing the states expected to be encountered in the mountains or the abilities of the team members, the Guide may decide to change any aspect of the Trip if they believe that continuing with the itinerary or activities or any later agreed alternatives would place anyone at undue risk. Alternatively, they may make changes for the simple belief that such changes may be more enjoyable, better suited or beneficial for most of those taking part. The Guide will review and alter the programme as the Trip progresses in response to the changing influence of variable factors. Besides, suppose the Guide considers that the behaviour, physical condition, mental illness or any other reason emanating from a passenger may be dangerous to the safety, health or well-being of said passenger or the whole group. In that case, the Guide may require you or others to leave the Trip and shall not be entitled to any refund whatsoever. In the event it is necessary, the Tour Operator is allowed to resort to law enforcement personnel.

EQUIPMENT AND CLOTHING: You will be provided with a list of all equipment required for the Trip. It is your responsibility to bring and wear adequate gear and clothing. 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 Tour Operator, its guides, coordinators, and any other party working for the Tour Operator shall not be held responsible for any accident or inconvenience associated with the equipment or clothing.

HIRING EQUIPMENT: You will be responsible for any leased equipment throughout the Trip. Suppose it is not returned to the Tour Operator within ten days of the last day of the Trip in excellent condition (excluding ordinary wear and tear). In that case, you agree to indemnify the Tour Operator and keep the Tour Operator indemnified from all losses arising from damage to the equipment.

JOINING AN EXPEDITION: the Tour Operator cannot and does not accept any responsibility for any travel arrangements you make to join the expedition or trek. The Tour Operator agrees with no financial liability arising from any enforced change to your travel plans due to any alteration of the expedition 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.

EXTRA DAYS: Most trips, especially expeditions, have additional days in the itinerary to provide flexibility in case of bad weather or some other untoward event, thereby increasing the chance of the principal objective being achieved and the Trip being successful. Suppose these days are optional to make the Trip’s aims, and the team returns from the mountains to a valley location earlier than planned. In that case, 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 everyone concerned at the time.

INSURANCE: For expeditions, you must have adequate insurance cover for helicopter search and rescue. For all trips, you are advised to have insurance that covers all the activities, specifically those deemed hazardous, included in the itinerary and for any actions you may undertake if travelling on an extension, whether arranged by the Tour Operator or independently.

COMPLAINTS: If you have a problem during the Trip, please immediately inform the Guide, who will endeavour to make things right. If your claim still needs to be resolved locally, please follow this up by e-mail to the Managing Director at the Tour Operator’s e-mail address, giving your trip name, the departure date, and all other relevant information and, where possible, evidence. Any such complaint must be received by 20 days from the date of your return from the Trip. Please keep your letter concise and to the point; this will assist in identifying your concerns quickly and speed up your response.

PARTICIPANT AGREEMENT, RELEASE, AND ASSUMPTION OF RISK: In consideration of the services of the Tour Operator, their agents, owners, officers, volunteers, participants, employees, and all other persons or entities acting in any capacity on their behalf (from now on collectively referred to as “Tour Operator”), I at this moment agree to release, indemnify, and discharge the Tour Operator, on behalf of myself, my spouse, my children, my parents, my heirs, assigns, personal representative and estate as follows: I acknowledge that mountaineering and the adventures activities in Argentina entail known and unanticipated risks that could result in physical or emotional injury, paralysis, death, or damage to myself, to property, or third parties. I understand that such risks can only be eliminated by jeopardising the activity’s essential qualities. The risks include, among other things: loss or damage to equipment being used; being lost or separated from their guides or companions; the hazards of walking on uneven terrain and slips and falls; being struck by rock fall, icefall or other objects dislodged or thrown from above; the use of climbing ropes and equipment; rope burns; pinches, scrapes, twists and jolts that could result in scratches, bruises, sprains, lacerations, fractures, concussions, or even more severe life threatening hazards; the forces of nature, including lightning, weather changes and avalanche; weather and altitude can be extreme and can change rapidly without warning; the risks of falling off the rock or mountain; the risk of altitude and cold including hypothermia, frostbite, acute mountain sickness, cerebral and pulmonary edema; and exposure to potentially dangerous wild animals, insect bites, and hazardous plant life; travel in remote areas with poor or no access to emergency and/or medical services; my own physical condition, and the physical exertion associated with this activity. Argentina and all countries have their laws and standards of acceptable conduct; food and water-related illnesses; foreign political, legal, social, transportation, health, and economic conditions; different measures of design, safety, and maintenance of buildings, public places, and conveyances; local & medical facilities and providers; weather conditions; criminal activity, environmental hazards. Furthermore, Tour Operator´s employees have demanding jobs to perform. They seek safety, but they are not infallible. They might be unaware of a participant’s fitness or abilities. They might misjudge the weather and other environmental conditions. They might overestimate whether the terrain is safe for travel or where or when an avalanche may occur. They may give incomplete warnings or instructions, and the equipment being used might malfunction. I expressly agree and promise to accept and assume all of the risks existing in this activity. I participate in this activity voluntarily, and I elect to participate despite the dangers.

I, at this moment, voluntarily release, forever discharge, and agree to indemnify and hold harmless the Tour Operator from all claims, demands, or causes of action which are in any way connected with my participation in this activity or my use of Tour Operator´s equipment or facilities, including any such claims which allege negligent acts or omissions of the Tour Operator. Should the Tour Operator or anyone acting on their behalf be required to incur attorney’s fees and costs to enforce this agreement, I agree to indemnify and hold them harmless for all such fees and expenses. I certify that I have adequate insurance to cover any injury or damage I may cause or suffer while participating, or else I agree to bear the costs of such injury or hurt myself. I further certify that I am willing to assume the risk of any medical or physical condition I may have. Suppose I file a lawsuit against the Tour Operator. In that case, I agree to do so solely in Argentina. I further agree that the substantive law of that state shall apply in that action without regard to the conflict of law rules. I agree that if any portion of this agreement is void or unenforceable, the remaining parts shall remain in full force and effect. By submitting this document, I acknowledge that if anyone is hurt or property is damaged during my participation in this activity, I may be found by a court of law to have waived my right to maintain a lawsuit against the Tour Operator by any claim from which I have released them herein.

COMPENSATION: Only the Director of the Tour Operator may promise a refund or offer compensation. The Tour Operator’s Guides, Instructors, Agents, Representatives or Employees are not entitled to guarantee a refund nor to offer, and any such promise or offer will not bind the Tour Operator.

GENERAL: By agreeing to these booking conditions, you consent to the Tour Operator’s staff taking photographs and video footage of you during the Trip and that the Tour Operator may use these images for publicity and training purposes including, but not limited to, in brochures, websites material and in the media.

LAW, JURISDICTION, AND COMPETENCY: The terms and conditions of all agreements made with the Tour Operator shall be subject to and governed by Argentinian law, and the courts of Argentina shall have exclusive jurisdiction over any dispute.