Policies

Cancellation & Refund Policy.

We run small trips with five spots, and we commit gear, permits, lodging and travel for every man months ahead. This policy explains what you pay, when, and what happens if you, the weather or we change the plan.

Section 01

Your deposit

When you accept your invitation, you pay a deposit of 25% of the trip’s cost. Your deposit holds your spot. It is non-refundable, because once you’re in, we turn other men away and start buying and booking for you.

You never pay anything before you’re accepted.

Section 02

Your balance

The remaining 75% is due about 60 days before the trip starts. Your exact amount and due date appear in your invitation and in your account, and we’ll remind you before it’s due.

Section 03

If you cancel

Tell us in writing by email to mark.schattenberg@gmail.com. Your cancellation date is the day we receive your email. What you get back depends on how many days before the trip’s start date you cancel:

  • 60 or more days before the start: you forfeit only your 25% deposit. If you’ve already paid any of the balance, we refund it in full.
  • 59 to 30 days before the start: we refund 50% of your balance. The deposit is not refunded.
  • 29 days or less before the start: no refund.

Example: on a $4,000 trip ($1,000 deposit, $3,000 balance), cancelling 45 days before the start gets you $1,500 back.

Section 04

Transfers

You may transfer your spot instead of cancelling:

  • To another date. Move your spot to another date, subject to space.
  • To a friend. Hand your spot to a friend. He must apply, and Mark must approve him, before the spot is his.

Ask in writing by email to mark.schattenberg@gmail.com.

Section 05

If we cancel a trip

We may cancel a trip before it starts if we don’t have enough accepted men, if a guide is hurt or ill, if a required permit isn’t issued, or if forecast conditions make the route’s risk unacceptable. If we cancel a trip for any reason, you choose: a full refund of everything you’ve paid, including your deposit, or a full credit toward another trip.

We confirm the trip will run by the balance due date, about 60 days before the start, so you can book your travel after that.

We aren’t responsible for flights, lodging or other travel costs you’ve booked. That’s why we recommend flexible or refundable tickets and travel insurance.

Section 06

Weather, conditions and permit changes

Before the trip: if weather, river levels, snow conditions, fire, a land-agency closure or a permit problem forces us to cancel, Section 05 applies: you choose a full refund, including your deposit, or a full credit toward another trip.

During the trip: the trip leader may delay, shorten, reroute or end a trip to manage risk.

Section 07

Being removed from a trip

Breaking the Code of Conduct, or failing to meet your trip’s fitness standard, is an integrity violation. The trip leader may remove you from the trip with no refund, and you pay for your own travel home.

Strongly recommended

Travel insurance

Plans change. Injuries, family emergencies, work and weather can all cost you a trip. Buy travel insurance when you pay your deposit, and look for:

  • Trip cancellation and interruption that covers your deposit and balance.
  • Medical and emergency evacuation coverage that includes adventure activities like paddling, climbing and backcountry travel, and works in Canada and Alaska.
  • A “cancel for any reason” upgrade, if you want the most flexibility.

Questions about this policy? Email mark.schattenberg@gmail.com.