Terms and Conditions – Mountful Hikes
1. Scope and validity
These Terms and Conditions apply to all agreements between Famke van der Elst, trading as Mountful Hikes (“Mountful Hikes”), and participants in guided hiking, snowshoeing, trekking and other outdoor trips, including multi-day trips.
Trips may be guided by Famke van der Elst personally or by another appropriately qualified member of the Mountful Hikes guiding team. References in these Terms and Conditions to “the guide” include any guide appointed by Mountful Hikes to lead or assist with a trip.
Where mandatory provisions of Swiss law, including the Swiss Federal Act on Package Travel (Pauschalreisegesetz) where applicable, provide participants with rights that cannot legally be excluded or restricted, those provisions shall prevail over these Terms and Conditions.
2. Booking and agreement
An agreement is concluded when a participant submits a completed registration or booking form and the booking is accepted by Mountful Hikes.
Bookings are subject to availability and, where applicable, to the minimum number of participants stated for the trip.
Mountful Hikes may decline a booking where there are reasonable grounds to believe that the participant does not meet the physical, technical, health or other requirements of the trip.
3. Personal data
Personal information provided in connection with a booking will be processed for the purpose of organising and operating the trip and in accordance with applicable data protection legislation.
Where reasonably necessary for the safe and proper operation of the trip, relevant information may be shared with guides, accommodation providers, transport providers or other service providers involved in the trip.
Health or medical information provided by a participant will only be shared where reasonably necessary for the participant’s safety or the safe operation of the trip.
4. Programme and itinerary changes
Mountain environments are inherently unpredictable. Routes, itineraries, activities, accommodation, meeting points, timings and other elements of a trip may therefore need to be changed.
Mountful Hikes and the appointed guide reserve the right to make changes that are reasonably considered necessary or appropriate because of weather, snow conditions, avalanche risk, trail or terrain conditions, natural hazards, transport disruption, closure of mountain huts, lifts, roads or trails, the fitness or health of participants, safety considerations or other circumstances affecting the proper operation of the trip.
The guide has final authority regarding safety decisions during the trip.
Reasonable changes to the programme do not in themselves entitle a participant to a refund or price reduction, provided that the overall nature and value of the trip are not materially reduced.
Where itinerary changes result in additional costs, responsibility for those costs will be determined according to the circumstances and applicable law. Participants remain responsible for additional personal expenses and for costs resulting from circumstances attributable to them.
Where a material change is made and mandatory Swiss law gives the participant additional rights, those statutory rights remain unaffected.
5. Accommodation
Multi-day trips may include accommodation in hotels, guesthouses, mountain huts, refuges, gîtes or similar accommodation.
Depending on the trip and location, participants may stay in private rooms, shared rooms or dormitories.
A participant may request a private or smaller room. Such requests cannot be guaranteed and depend on availability. Any additional costs are payable by the participant.
Mountful Hikes will make reasonable efforts to communicate dietary requirements and allergies to accommodation providers. However, Mountful Hikes cannot guarantee that third-party accommodation or catering providers will be able to meet every dietary requirement or provide an allergen-free environment.
6. Insurance
Every participant is responsible for having adequate insurance for the activities included in the trip.
Insurance must provide appropriate cover for accidents and mountain or outdoor activities and, where relevant to the destination and activity, mountain rescue, search and rescue and helicopter evacuation.
Participants are strongly advised to have adequate travel and cancellation insurance covering illness, injury, travel disruption and other unforeseen circumstances that may prevent participation.
It is the participant’s responsibility to verify that their insurance provides sufficient cover for the particular trip and activities booked.
The existence or absence of insurance does not alter the participant’s payment or cancellation obligations under these Terms and Conditions.
7. Cancellation by the participant
Cancellation must be communicated to Mountful Hikes in writing by email.
Unless different cancellation conditions have expressly been agreed in writing for a particular trip, the following cancellation charges apply:
- More than 270 days before departure: 10% of the total trip price.
- 181 to 270 days before departure: 30% of the total trip price.
- 91 to 180 days before departure: 50% of the total trip price.
- 90 days or less before departure: 100% of the total trip price.
The relevant cancellation date is the date on which Mountful Hikes receives the cancellation email.
Cancellation charges are calculated on the total agreed trip price, irrespective of the amount already paid at the time of cancellation.
Any amount already paid in excess of the applicable cancellation charge will be refunded. If the amount already paid is insufficient to cover the applicable cancellation charge, the outstanding amount remains payable.
No refund will be provided if a participant fails to attend, arrives late, voluntarily leaves a trip early, or is unable to participate in all or part of the programme for personal reasons, including illness or injury.
A participant’s inability to participate due to illness, injury or other personal circumstances does not in itself entitle the participant to a refund outside the cancellation terms set out above.
Participants are therefore strongly advised to take out appropriate cancellation insurance.
Any cancellation rights that cannot legally be excluded under mandatory Swiss law remain unaffected.
8. Transfer of a booking
A booking is personal.
Where permitted by applicable law, a participant may request that their booking be transferred to another person who meets all requirements applicable to the trip.
The request must be made in writing and sufficiently in advance to allow the necessary arrangements to be made.
The original participant and the replacement participant are responsible for any additional costs actually incurred as a result of the transfer, including costs charged by accommodation, transport or other service providers.
Where applicable, statutory rights relating to the transfer of package travel bookings remain unaffected.
9. Cancellation by Mountful Hikes
Mountful Hikes reserves the right to cancel a trip where there are insufficient registrations, where the trip cannot reasonably or safely be operated, or because of circumstances beyond its reasonable control.
Where a minimum group size applies, the minimum number of participants and the applicable deadline for cancellation due to insufficient participation will be communicated in the trip information or booking documentation.
Mountful Hikes may, at its discretion, decide to operate a trip with fewer participants than the stated minimum. This does not create an obligation to do so for other trips or departure dates.
If Mountful Hikes cancels a trip, participants will receive the refund or alternative arrangements to which they are entitled under the applicable agreement and mandatory Swiss law.
Unless required by applicable law, Mountful Hikes is not responsible for consequential or additional costs incurred by a participant in connection with the trip, such as independently booked flights, accommodation, transport or other travel arrangements.
Participants are therefore advised to use flexible or refundable travel arrangements where appropriate and to maintain adequate travel insurance.
10. Guides and replacement guides
Mountful Hikes determines which appropriately qualified guide or guides will lead each trip.
A trip may be led by Famke van der Elst or by another suitably qualified member of the Mountful Hikes guiding team.
Mountful Hikes may appoint or replace a guide before or during a trip where reasonably necessary, including because of illness, injury, availability, operational requirements or other unforeseen circumstances.
The appointment or replacement of a suitably qualified guide does not in itself constitute a material change to the trip and does not entitle the participant to cancel or receive a refund.
11. Physical condition, health and suitability
Each participant is responsible for ensuring that they meet the physical and, where relevant, technical requirements stated for the trip.
Participants must disclose before departure any relevant health condition, injury, medication, allergy or other circumstance that could reasonably affect their ability to participate safely or that the guide should reasonably be aware of for safety purposes.
Participants must inform Mountful Hikes if relevant circumstances change between booking and departure.
The guide may adapt the programme or require a participant to stop participating if, in the guide’s reasonable professional judgement, continuing would create an unacceptable risk to the participant, other participants or the guide.
12. Equipment and participant responsibilities
Participants are responsible for bringing the clothing, footwear and equipment specified or reasonably required for the trip.
Equipment must be suitable for the expected terrain, weather and conditions.
Participants must follow reasonable instructions given by the guide, particularly instructions relating to safety, route choice, equipment, weather and group management.
The guide may refuse or discontinue a participant’s participation where their equipment, physical condition, behaviour or failure to follow safety instructions creates an unacceptable risk to themselves, other participants or the guide.
Where participation is refused or discontinued because of circumstances attributable to the participant, there is no automatic entitlement to a refund.
13. Conduct
Participants are expected to behave responsibly and respectfully towards other participants, guides, accommodation providers, local communities and the natural environment.
Mountful Hikes may require a participant to leave a trip in cases of seriously disruptive, abusive, dangerous or irresponsible behaviour, or repeated refusal to follow reasonable safety instructions.
Any additional transport, accommodation or other costs resulting from such removal are the responsibility of the participant.
14. Risks and liability
Hiking, snowshoeing, trekking and other mountain and outdoor activities involve inherent risks that cannot be completely eliminated, even when reasonable care is taken.
These risks may include, among other things, falls, slips, rockfall, changing weather, snow and ice, avalanches, difficult or uneven terrain, altitude, natural hazards and delays in obtaining assistance or medical care in remote areas.
By participating, participants acknowledge the inherent nature of these risks and agree to follow the instructions of the guide.
Nothing in these Terms and Conditions excludes or limits liability where such exclusion or limitation is prohibited by Swiss law.
To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, Mountful Hikes is not liable for loss or damage arising from risks inherent in the activity, the participant’s own acts or omissions, failure to follow instructions, inadequate personal equipment, or circumstances outside the reasonable control of Mountful Hikes.
To the fullest extent permitted by applicable Swiss law, Mountful Hikes’ liability for damage other than personal injury is limited to twice the total price of the trip. This limitation does not apply to damage caused intentionally or through gross negligence or where such limitation is otherwise prohibited by mandatory law.
15. Force majeure and extraordinary circumstances
Mountful Hikes is not responsible for failure to perform, delay, interruption or necessary changes resulting from circumstances beyond its reasonable control, to the extent permitted by applicable law.
Such circumstances may include severe or unusual weather, avalanche danger, natural disasters, wildfire, flooding, landslides, closure of roads, trails, mountain huts or lifts, transport disruption, strikes, epidemics, government restrictions or other unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances.
Where such circumstances occur, Mountful Hikes and the guide may make reasonable changes to the itinerary or services in order to protect participants and continue the trip where reasonably possible.
Any rights that participants have under mandatory Swiss law in such circumstances remain unaffected.
16. Photography and media
Photographs or video recordings may occasionally be taken during trips.
Images in which a participant is clearly identifiable will not be used for promotional or marketing purposes without the participant’s consent where such consent is required under applicable law.
Participants may inform Mountful Hikes or the guide at any time if they do not wish to appear in photographs or recordings.
17. Complaints and problems during a trip
If a participant experiences a problem with any aspect of the trip, they should inform the guide or Mountful Hikes as soon as reasonably possible.
Participants are expected to give Mountful Hikes or the relevant service provider a reasonable opportunity to investigate and, where possible, remedy the problem during the trip.
Any formal complaint following the trip should be submitted to Mountful Hikes in writing without undue delay.
18. Payment
Unless otherwise agreed in writing, a booking payment of 50% of the total trip price is due upon booking and is required to secure the participant’s place.
The remaining 50% must be paid no later than 90 days before departure.
For bookings made 90 days or less before departure, the full trip price is due upon booking.
The booking payment is not described as non-refundable. Any amount refundable following cancellation is determined in accordance with the cancellation provisions in Section 7.
If an amount due is not paid by the applicable deadline, Mountful Hikes may, after any notice required by applicable law, treat the booking as cancelled by the participant. In that case, the cancellation charges set out in Section 7 may apply.
19. Third-party services
Some elements of a trip may be provided by independent third parties, including hotels, mountain huts, transport providers, lift operators and other local service providers.
Mountful Hikes will exercise reasonable care in selecting and arranging such services where they form part of the contracted trip.
Nothing in this section limits any responsibility that Mountful Hikes has under mandatory Swiss package travel or consumer protection law.
20. Swiss law and jurisdiction
These Terms and Conditions and all agreements between Mountful Hikes and participants are governed by Swiss law.
Any dispute shall be subject to the jurisdiction of the competent Swiss courts at the registered place of business of Mountful Hikes, except where mandatory consumer protection or jurisdiction rules provide otherwise.
21. Severability
If any provision of these Terms and Conditions is found to be invalid, unenforceable or inconsistent with mandatory law, the remaining provisions shall remain in effect to the fullest extent permitted by law.
The invalid or unenforceable provision shall be replaced or interpreted, where possible, in a manner that most closely reflects its intended purpose while complying with applicable law.