GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS of Bergführer Wipptal
Developed by the Association of Austrian Mountain and Ski Guides
1. Services with individual contractual relationships
The non-profit website www.bergfuehrer-wipptal.at is the joint internet presence of several independent mountain and ski guides. All participating mountain and ski guides offer their services with individual contractual relationships. This means that thereis no legal relationship between the guests and the operator of the website Bergführer Wipptal, but only between the guests and the mountain and ski guide who conducts the tour.
The general terms and conditions only describe the contractual relationship between the guests and the mountain guide who conducts the tour.
2. Scope of application, service content
The mountain and ski guides provide their services exclusively on the basis of the following General Terms and Conditions (AGB). These apply to all legal relationships between the mountain and ski guide and the guests, even if no express reference is made to them.
The mountain guide contract includes all obligations as a mountain guide to guide a guest on a particular tour. In return, the guest undertakes to pay the fee, unless it has been expressly agreed that there is no charge. The requirements mentioned in the programs or tour descriptions must be fulfilled by the participant. Each guest is responsible for the condition and maintenance of any equipment he/she may have brought with him/her, as well as his/her own state of health. In order to assess the suitability of the individual guest for the planned tour, the guest undertakes to provide truthful information to the mountain and ski guide. Due to the legal obligation, the mountain guide has to make sure that the guests are sufficiently equipped according to the requirements before starting a tour. The mountain guide reserves the right to refuse to guide persons who are inadequately equipped or who are obviously not up to the difficulties of the planned tour. In this case there is no right to a refund of the fee. Despite the best tour planning and guiding, no unlimited guarantee of success can be given for the achievement of the planned program goals or summit. Decisions regarding the choice between several route variants, continuation and termination of the tour, the inclusion of breaks and their lengths, the decision regarding the carrying and use of equipment (especially rope, crampons, crampons, ice axes, etc.) are the sole responsibility of the mountain guide. No claims for compensation can be made for tours that are omitted for safety reasons (such as rock and ice falls, avalanches, falls, changes in weather, etc.) or through the fault of the participant. Damages from loss or repair costs of damages to the rental equipment, which exceed normal wear and tear, have to be compensated by the participant. Due to the special responsibility for the correct execution of the tour, the guests commit themselves with the conclusion of the mountain guide contract to submit to the instructions of the mountain guide, which the guide gives in his function as responsible and competent leader of the tour. If these instructions are ignored by the guests, the mountain guide cannot be held responsible for any consequences arising from this.
3. Conclusion of contract
The mountain guide contract between the guest and the mountain and ski guide is concluded when there is agreement on the essential elements of the contract (goal/purpose of the enterprise, fee, time and number of persons to be guided, etc.). The booking can be made in writing or verbally. Telephone bookings are legally binding. If several participants register at the same time, the person making the booking is liable for the payment of the invoice amount. It is assumed that the participant acts in his/her own name. Furthermore, when a mountain guide contract is concluded for the management of a mountain tour with several persons, all guests are jointly and severally liable for the fee claim.
The mountain guide reserves the right to change, restrict or extend the training and tour programme at any time due to unforeseeable circumstances. Due to the dependency on weather conditions or other unforeseeable circumstances, the originally planned course of the tour cannot always be guaranteed.
With the registration a deposit of 20% has to be paid, the rest of the payment has to arrive at the latest 7 days before the start of the tour on the given account free of deduction and expenses. In exceptional cases and only with the express agreement of the mountain and ski guide, cash payment can be arranged on site before the start of the tour.
4. Change in the person of the guest
If the guest is prevented from starting the enterprise, he/she may transfer the contractual relationship to another person, provided that this person fulfils all conditions for participation and the transfer is notified to the mountain and ski guide within a reasonable period of time before the departure date. The transferor and the acquirer are jointly and severally liable for the unpaid fee and any additional costs arising from the transfer. A refusal of the transfer by the mountain and ski guide is possible for objectively justified reasons.
5. Minimum number of participants
All events can only be carried out if the minimum number of participants is reached. If this is not the case, the mountain and ski 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 held, a new offer can be made with a newly calculated price. If the guest agrees with the newly calculated price, a new contract is concluded. However, the mountain and ski guide is not obliged to carry out the event again.
6. Insurance
The mountain guide has the legally required liability insurance. Any private insurances (e.g. accident insurance, rescue cost 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 incur very high costs, which are usually not covered by the responsible social insurance institutions and must therefore be paid for by the guest concerned. It is therefore strongly recommended that you take out rescue cost insurance (e.g. a support package from the Mountain Rescue Tyrol). There is generally no cancellation insurance. The guest is responsible for complying with any passport, visa, customs, foreign currency and health regulations at his own expense.
7. Warranty
The guest has a warranty claim in the event of non-delivery or defective performance. The guest agrees that a defect-free service will be provided within a reasonable period of time instead of his claim to cancellation or price reduction, provided that this is possible. In any case, the guest is obliged to notify the mountain guide in order to carry out the improvement during the ongoing mountain tour.
If a disturbance of performance in the sphere of the guest is justified, such as an impairment of health (e.g. too slow acclimatisation to the altitude, lack of fitness, etc.), the guest cannot derive any claims from this.
8. Damages
In the event of culpable violation of an obligation arising from the contractual relationship, the mountain and ski guide is responsible to the guests, if all other legal requirements are met, for the compensation of the resulting damages within the framework of the liability insurance for personal injury, property damage and financial losses concluded in accordance with legal obligations.
The mountain and ski guide is not liable in case of slight negligence. Equally excluded are claims for compensation for lost holiday enjoyment. Any possible compensation is limited to the amount of the liability insurance sum existing at that time. Apart from the legal liability circumstances, the guests participate in the mountain tours at their own risk. A considerable degree of prudence is therefore expected of every guest. The mountain and ski guide cannot take responsibility for accidents, damages or other irregularities that occur due to the realization of alpine dangers (such as the danger of falling, altitude sickness, cold weather damage, avalanche danger, crevasse fall, rockfall). This is expressly accepted by the guest with his registration. All events are prepared and guided to the best of our knowledge and belief. No guarantee can be given for summit successes or fulfilment of subjectively presented destinations. It is in the nature of the event that a certain residual risk and uncertainty remains for the guest. An appropriate tour preparation through endurance sports, appropriate technical training and personal prudence reduces the risk of accidents and is therefore strongly recommended to every guest.
9. Cancellation of the contract
The guest has the right to withdraw from the contract in writing at any time. Cancellation up to 28 days before the start of the programme will incur a processing fee of 50 euros. Cancellation at a later date will incur the following costs:
- 27 to 14 days before tour start 50% of the respective fee
- 13 to 5 days before tour start 75% of the respective fee
- from 4 days before start 100 % of the respective fee
In addition, any cancellation costs of hotels or huts etc. must be paid by the participant. It is recommended to take out a cancellation insurance. If the space freed up by the cancellation can be resold, no costs will be incurred. Changes of dates apply like cancellation and new registration. If a guest is absent from 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 guide fee plus any expenses can be retained by the mountain and ski guide.
10. Resignation of the mountain guide before the start
If the mountain and ski guide has to withdraw from the contract due to unusual and unforeseeable events over which he had no influence and the consequences of which could not have been avoided despite the application of due care, the guest must reimburse the expenses incurred so far. Such events include, for example, government orders, strikes, war or war-like conditions, natural disasters, epidemics, weather and avalanche conditions, etc. The part of the management fee exceeding the reimbursement of expenses will be reimbursed.
11. Cancellation by the mountain and ski guide after the start of the trip
The mountain and ski guide is released from the service provision if a guest within the scope of a tour disturbs the execution of the enterprise - regardless of a warning - by improper or grossly careless behaviour or endangers others. In this case, the guest is obliged to pay compensation to the mountain guide/the Alpine School if he/she is at fault. In such a case the guide fee will not be refunded.
12. Changes of the contract
The mountain and ski guide reserves the right to increase the fee confirmed with the booking for reasons beyond the control of the mountain and ski guide, if the date is more than three months after the conclusion of the contract. Such reasons are, for example, the change of possible transport and ascent costs or the exchange rates to be applied for the execution of the tour. All tours are subject to changes in the program due to changes in the weather, other alpine dangers as well as weaknesses in the physical condition of the individual guests and other reasons. In accordance with the applicable mountain and ski guide law, the mountain guide is obliged to abort a mountain tour if unforeseeable special circumstances arise in which the physical safety of his guests appears to be endangered. Guests cannot make any claims for compensation against the mountain and ski guide on account of these circumstances. The decision must be based on the weakest guest and the other guests of the tour share the same fate.
The principle of personal execution of the mountain guide contract applies. In case of prevention due to important reasons (e.g. illness, death in the family, etc.), the mountain guide is entitled to transfer the guiding activity to a third party. The guest expressly agrees to this possibility of transfer. In such a case the liability is limited to a possible selection fault.
13. Provision of information to third parties
Information about the names of the guests as well as the places of stay will not be given to third parties, even in urgent cases, unless the guests have expressly requested information. The costs arising from the transmission of urgent messages shall be borne by the traveller.
14. Data protection and advertising
The mountain and ski guide is entitled to process and store personal data within the framework of the contract and purposes resulting from the contract. Furthermore, the guest expressly agrees to pass on personal data to the course instructor, participants and accommodation when booking. By participating in an event, the participant agrees that videos and photos taken by him during the event may be used for advertising purposes of the mountain guide/the Alpine School.
15. Final provisions
Austrian law shall apply to the exclusion of the conflict of laws 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, the validity of the remaining provisions shall not be affected. The wholly or partially invalid provision shall be replaced by a provision that comes as close as possible to the economic purpose of the invalid provision.