GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS of the Kitzbühel Mountain Guides
Please note:
The Kitzbühel Mountain Guides association acts as an intermediary between the independent mountain guides and the customers. The invoice is only considered a down payment or agency commission for the booked tours. The contract is concluded directly with the respective mountain guide. Therefore, after you contact us, we forward your booking to our local mountain guide. The remaining balance is then paid directly to them. Details such as the meeting point, time, detailed daily schedule, required equipment, etc., and additional costs for expenses (cable cars, taxis, etc.) must be discussed directly with the respective mountain guide after the referral. As an independent entrepreneur, the guide handles the assignment independently and is responsible for the tour and any changes.
Developed by the Association of Austrian Mountain and Ski Guides
1. Scope, Content of Services:
The Kitzbühel Mountain Guides provide their services exclusively on the basis of the following General Terms and Conditions (GTC). These apply to all legal relationships between the mountain guides and the guests, even if they are not explicitly referred to. The mountain guide contract includes all obligations as a mountain guide to lead a guest on a specific tour. In return, the guest undertakes to pay the fee, unless it has been expressly agreed that the service is free of charge.
The requirements stated in the programs or tour descriptions must be met by the participant. Each guest is responsible for the condition and maintenance of any equipment they bring themselves, as well as for their own state of health. To assess the suitability of the individual guest for the planned tour, the guest undertakes to provide truthful information to the mountain guide.
Due to legal obligations, the mountain guide must ensure before starting a tour that the guests are sufficiently equipped according to the requirements. The mountain guide reserves the right to refuse to lead persons who are poorly equipped or who are obviously not up to the difficulties of the planned undertaking. In this case, there is no claim for a refund of the fee.
Despite the best tour planning and leadership, no unrestricted guarantee of success can be given for reaching the planned program goals or summit. Decisions regarding the choice between several route variants, the continuation or cancellation of the tour, the inclusion of breaks and their lengths, and the decision regarding the carrying and use of equipment (especially ropes, crampons, ski crampons, ice axes, etc.) are the sole responsibility of the mountain guide.
No claims for compensation can be made for tours that did not take place for safety reasons (such as rock and ice fall, avalanches, falls, changes in weather, etc.) or through the fault of the participant.
Damage resulting from loss or repair costs for damage to rental equipment that goes beyond normal wear and tear must be compensated by the participant.
Due to the special responsibility for the correct execution of the tour, guests undertake, by concluding the mountain guide contract, to submit to the instructions given by the mountain guide in their function as the responsible and expert leader of the tour. Should these be ignored by the guests, the mountain guide cannot be held responsible for any resulting consequences.
2. Conclusion of Contract:
The mountain guide contract between the guest and the mountain guide is concluded when there is agreement on the essential components of the contract (goal/purpose of the undertaking, fee, time, and the number of people to be guided, etc.). The booking can be made in writing or orally. Telephone bookings are legally binding. In the case of simultaneous registration of several participants, the person making the registration is liable for the payment of the invoice amount. It is assumed that the person is acting in their own name. Furthermore, when a mountain guide contract is concluded for the leadership of a mountain tour with several people, all guests are jointly and severally liable for the fee claim.
The mountain guide reserves the right to change, restrict, or expand the training and tour program at any time due to unforeseen circumstances. Due to the dependence on weather conditions or other unpredictable circumstances, the originally planned tour route cannot always be guaranteed.
Upon registration, unless otherwise agreed, a deposit of 50% must be paid; the remaining payment must be received in the specified account without deductions or fees no later than 14 days before the start of the tour. In exceptional cases and only with the express consent of the mountain guide, cash payment on-site before the start of the tour can also be agreed upon.
3. Change in the Person of the Guest:
If the guest is prevented from starting the undertaking, they can transfer the contractual relationship to another person, provided that this person meets all conditions for participation and the transfer is communicated to the mountain guide within a reasonable period before the departure date. The transferor and the transferee are jointly and severally liable for the unpaid fee and, if applicable, for any additional costs arising from the transfer. A rejection of the transfer by the mountain guide is possible for objectively justified reasons.
4. Minimum Number of Participants:
In principle, all events can only be carried out if the specified minimum number of participants is reached. If this is not the case, the mountain guide is entitled to withdraw from the contract up to 7 days before the start of the event. The fee already paid will be refunded in full. If the guest nevertheless insists on the event being carried out, a new offer with a recalculated price can be submitted. If the guest agrees to the newly calculated price, a new contract is concluded. However, there is no obligation on the part of the mountain guide to re-conduct the event.
5. Insurance
The mountain guide has the legally required liability insurance. Any private insurance (e.g., accident insurance) in connection with the planned tours must be taken out by the guests themselves. In this context, it is pointed out that helicopter or mountain rescue operations can result in very high costs, which are usually not covered by the relevant social security providers and must therefore be paid by the affected guest themselves. Therefore, taking out mountain rescue cost insurance is explicitly recommended. In principle, there is no cancellation insurance. The guest is responsible for complying with any passport, visa, customs, foreign exchange, and health regulations at their own expense.
6. Warranty:
The guest has a warranty claim in the event of non-performance or defective performance. The guest agrees that, instead of their claim for cancellation or price reduction, defect-free performance will be provided within a reasonable period, provided this is possible. To carry out the improvement during the ongoing mountain tour, the guest is in any case obliged to notify the mountain guide.
If a performance disruption is based in the guest’s sphere, such as a health impairment (e.g., too slow acclimatization to the altitude, lack of physical condition, etc.), the guest cannot derive any claims from this.
7. Compensation:
In the event of a culpable breach of an obligation arising from the contractual relationship, the mountain guide is responsible to the guests, provided all other legal requirements are met, for compensation for the resulting damage within the framework of the legally required liability insurance for personal injury, property damage, and financial loss.
The mountain guide is not liable in the event of slight negligence. Compensation claims for loss of holiday enjoyment are also excluded. Any compensation is limited in amount to the liability insurance sum existing at that time.
Apart from the legal liability facts, guests participate in the mountain tours at their own risk. A significant degree of prudence is therefore expected of every guest. The mountain guide/alpine school cannot assume any responsibility for accidents, damage, or other irregularities that arise due to the realization of alpine dangers (such as danger of falling, altitude sickness, cold damage, danger of avalanches, falling into a crevasse, rockfall). This is expressly accepted by the guest upon registration.
All events are prepared and led to the best of our knowledge and belief. No guarantee can be given for summit success or the fulfillment of subjectively imagined travel goals. It is in the nature of the event that a certain residual risk and uncertainty remain for the guest. Appropriate tour preparation through endurance sports, corresponding technical training, and personal prudence reduces the risk of accidents and is therefore strongly advised to every guest.
8. Withdrawal from the Contract:
The guest has the right to withdraw from the contract in writing at any time. In the event of cancellation no later than 31 days before the start of the program, no costs will be incurred. In the event of cancellation at a later date, the following costs will be incurred: 30th to 14th day before the start of the tour 50%, 13th to 4th day before the start of the tour 75%, and from 3 days before the start 100% of the respective fee.
In addition, any cancellation costs for hotels or huts, etc., must be borne by the participant. It is recommended to take out cancellation insurance. If the place vacated by the withdrawal can be resold, no costs will be incurred. Changes to dates are treated as cancellation and new registration.
Should a guest fail to appear at the agreed starting point of the tour or if the departure for the tour is missed due to negligence on the part of the guest or due to a reason caused by force majeure, 75% of the guiding fee plus any expenses can be retained by the mountain guide.
9. Withdrawal by the Mountain Guide before Departure:
If the mountain guide has to withdraw from the contract due to unusual and unpredictable events over which they had no influence and the consequences of which could not have been avoided despite the exercise of due care, the guest must replace the expenses incurred so far. Such events include, for example, government orders, strikes, war or warlike conditions, natural disasters, epidemics, weather and avalanche conditions, etc. The part of the guiding fee exceeding the reimbursement of expenses will be refunded.
10. Withdrawal by the Mountain Guide after the Start of the Trip:
The mountain guide is released from the provision of services if a guest significantly disrupts the execution of the undertaking or endangers others through improper or grossly careless behavior during a tour – regardless of a warning.
In this case, the guest, if they are at fault, is obliged to compensate the mountain guide/alpine school. In such a case, the guiding fee will not be refunded.
11. Changes to the Contract:
The mountain guide reserves the right to increase the fee confirmed with the booking for reasons beyond the mountain guide’s control, provided the date is more than three months after the conclusion of the contract. Such reasons include, for example, changes in any transport and climbing costs or the exchange rates to be applied for the execution of the tour. Program changes due to changes in weather, other alpine dangers, as well as lack of physical condition of individual guests and other factors remain reserved for all tours. According to the applicable Mountain and Ski Guide Act, the mountain guide is obliged to cancel a mountain tour if unpredictable special circumstances occur in which the physical safety of their guests appears to be endangered. Guests can therefore not assert any claims for compensation against the mountain guide/alpine school from these circumstances. In this case, the decision must be based on the weakest guest, and the other guests of the undertaking share the same fate.
12. Providing Information to Third Parties:
Information about the names of the guests and their locations will not be provided to third parties even in urgent cases, unless the guests have explicitly requested that information be provided. The costs arising from the transmission of urgent messages are at the expense of the traveler.
13. Data Protection and Advertising:
The mountain guide is entitled to process and store personal data within the framework of contract processing and for purposes resulting from the contract. Furthermore, when booking, the guest expressly agrees to pass on personal data to course leaders, participants, and accommodation. By participating in an event, the participant agrees that videos and photos taken of them during the undertaking may be used for the mountain guide’s advertising purposes.
14. Final Provisions:
Austrian law applies, excluding conflict of law rules. Should individual provisions of the contract with the guest, including these General Terms and Conditions, be or become invalid in whole or in part, this shall not affect the validity of the remaining provisions. The wholly or partially invalid regulation shall be replaced by a regulation that comes as close as possible to the economic purpose of the invalid one.
