General terms & conditions for guided activities and courses

1. Scope of application

What these terms cover, and why this is a guiding contract and not a holiday package.

These terms & conditions apply to all guided activities, courses, training days and multi-day programs offered and/or guided under the brand Altitude Explorer, including but not limited to:

• • Ski touring, freeride and steep skiing.
• • Ice climbing, single-pitch and multi-pitch.
• • Ski mountaineering.
• • Snowshoeing.
• • Rock climbing and multi-pitch routes.
• • Alpine and mixed mountaineering, glacier tours.
• • Via ferratas, ridge traverses and classic alpine hikes.
• • Avalanche training, risk awareness courses and educational events.
• • Multi-day hut-to-hut programs and alpine itineraries.
• • Treks and expeditions in the Dolomites and beyond.
• • Custom guiding, private instruction and bespoke programs.
• • Any other activity or program offered under the Altitude Explorer brand.

2. Organiser and guide

Who you are contracting with, in full, including registration and insurance.

I organise trips under the Altitude Explorer brand and I lead them myself, as an IFMGA/UIAGM certified mountain guide. Mountain guiding is a regulated profession under Italian Law 6 of 2 January 1989 and Trento Provincial Law 20/1993, and I am registered with the professional register of the provincial college of mountain guides. The registration details and those of my professional liability policy (insurer and coverage limit, Art. 5 of Presidential Decree 137/2012) are stated in the booking confirmation and available on request.

Altitude Explorer is the name I work under as an independent mountain guide. Your contract is with me and I am the one leading the activity. If something serious prevents me from being there, I tell you as soon as I can and I offer you first an alternative date or a full refund of everything you have paid: the choice is yours. If you prefer to keep the date and a colleague is available, I introduce you to an IFMGA/UIAGM certified mountain guide who is on the professional register and carries liability insurance: in that case I tell you beforehand who you are contracting with for that day, and you are given their registration and insurance details. Some programs are led and invoiced directly by another guide: there too I tell you before you book.

3. Bookings, contract and communication

When a booking becomes binding, and how that differs if you pay immediately online.

1. Non-binding enquiry. Requests you send through the booking or contact form, by email or by phone are not binding.
2. Offer and program details. I reply with the available dates, a proposed program, the requirements and a price indication.
3. Formation of contract. Sending a request through this website does not conclude a contract and does not oblige you to pay anything: your request is an offer to me. The contract is concluded when I accept it and confirm the booking to you in writing, and that is also the moment the dates are reserved for you and stop being offered to anyone else. The deposit is requested after that and is due by the date stated in the confirmation; if it never arrives, see section 5. For bookings paid immediately online, the point below applies instead.
4. Communication. Email is the primary channel. Where we agree on it, we can use the phone or a messaging app for logistics. It is your responsibility to make sure you can receive my messages and to tell me promptly if your contact details change.
5. Booking with immediate payment. On some dates you can book and pay in a single step, by card or with a payment wallet. There the contract is concluded when the payment succeeds: your place is confirmed at once, without a separate confirmation from me, and the confirmation email that follows records the booking. Paying completes a binding booking, and the 14 day right of withdrawal does not apply to activities with a fixed date (section 6). If for any reason I cannot honour a booking paid this way, I refund the full amount without delay and nothing further is owed by either of us.
6. How you accept these terms. When you book through this website you accept these terms by ticking the dedicated box before sending your request or paying; without that tick the booking cannot be sent. I record the date and time of your acceptance and the version of these terms in force at that moment, and I keep a copy of that version. On request I send you the exact text you accepted.
7. Waiting list. For dates that are full you can join a waiting list, free of charge and with no obligation to pay. If a place frees up I email you; the offer is valid for 48 hours and does not hold the place, which stays available to anyone until a booking is actually completed. Joining a waiting list is not a booking and creates no contract.

4. Prices, what is included and what is not

What the price includes, what it never includes, and how open group prices move.

The guiding fee is specified in the activity description and in the booking confirmation. Prices are shown inclusive of taxes, and the price that binds both of us is the one displayed on the payment screen at the moment you pay. Each program includes an "Included / Not included" section which forms part of the contract.

• Typically included: professional guiding/instruction, planning, route choice, and shared technical equipment where required (e.g. ropes and basic protection), plus pre-trip advice.
• Typically not included: travel to meeting point, local transport, lift passes, hut/hotel accommodation (including the guide's share unless stated), meals, drinks, personal equipment rental, insurance, rescue/evacuation costs and any third-party services.
• Third party costs are never mine. Huts, lifts, transport, permits, rental shops and any other provider are contracts between you and them, at their prices and under their cancellation rules. I do not collect their money and I cannot refund it, whatever happens to your booking with me. Where you agree to cover my own hut bed or lift ticket, it is a reimbursement of a documented expense, invoiced separately from the guiding fee.
• Open group dates. Some dates are open groups where the price per person depends on the final size of the group, as shown on the activity page. Until you pay, that price can go down as people join and can also go up if someone leaves. I always show you the current amount before any payment, and any payment link that no longer matches the current price stops working. Once you have paid, your price is fixed and does not change again. At the response deadline shown for that departure, normally 15 days before the start, I write to you with the final price and you choose freely: keep the date at that price, move to another date, or withdraw. If you withdraw at that point, or if I cancel the departure because it did not fill, every amount you have paid is refunded in full, deposit included, and nothing is charged to you.

In case of discrepancy between a generic description and your specific confirmation, the confirmation prevails.

5. Payments, deposits, due dates and payment methods

Deposit, balance, deadlines, and what the deposit legally is.

Unless otherwise specified in writing, the following principles apply:

• A deposit, shown at booking and normally 30 percent of the total price (taxes included), confirms the booking. The exact amount and due date are stated in your booking confirmation. I explain what the deposit legally is, and what happens to it if you withdraw, in the next point and in section 6.
• What the deposit is. The deposit is not a caparra within the meaning of Articles 1385 and 1386 of the Italian Civil Code. It is the agreed price of a right I grant you: the right to withdraw from a confirmed booking at any time and for any reason, by simply writing to me (Article 1373, third paragraph, of the Italian Civil Code). You would not have that right by law, because the 14 day right of withdrawal does not apply to activities with a fixed date. What the deposit covers is set out in section 6. The arrangement is reciprocal, and it works against me: I keep no right to cancel your booking at will. If I ever cancelled for a reason within my control that has nothing to do with risk assessment, conditions or force majeure, you would receive back everything you paid plus an additional amount equal to the deposit (section 7).
• The remaining balance is normally due before the activity starts. For short-notice bookings, or for specific programs, I may ask for full payment at confirmation.
• I may offer payment by bank transfer and/or by card via Stripe. Which methods are available can depend on the program and the timing: your portal or your confirmation tells you which ones apply.
• Bank transfers are due within 3 working days of the payment request, unless your booking confirmation states a different deadline. If you start an online booking with immediate payment and do not complete the payment, nothing is charged and the reservation is released automatically after a short time, normally within a couple of hours, so the dates become available again.

If the deposit due at confirmation does not reach me by its deadline, the reservation simply lapses, the dates go back on sale and you owe nothing. Once a booking is confirmed and the deposit has been received, if the balance is not paid by its deadline and you do not respond to my reminders, I may treat the booking as withdrawn by you and apply section 6. If a payment fails, is reversed or is charged back, the booking may be suspended or cancelled unless the problem is resolved.

6. Cancellations and changes by the guest

You can withdraw at any time. This section says what that costs and when it costs nothing extra.

You can withdraw from a confirmed booking at any time and for any reason. Write to me at info@altitudeexplorer.com. What counts is the date and time your written notice reaches me, and that is what decides which of the following rules applies. Unless a particular program says otherwise in writing:

• Deposit. If you withdraw from a confirmed booking I keep the deposit, normally 30 percent of the total price, and if your notice reaches me 30 days or more before the start date that is all you owe. The deposit is the agreed price of your right to withdraw (section 5). It is not a penalty and it is not a caparra. It covers work already done for you that cannot be undone: the correspondence and the quote, checking conditions and choosing the itinerary, the administrative and payment handling, and above all the dates themselves, which I took off the calendar and stopped offering to anyone else. For an early withdrawal I ask nothing beyond the deposit and I claim no further damages. If I manage to fill the dates again, see the point on refilled dates below. If it is me who cancels, section 7 applies and the refund always includes the deposit.
• Late withdrawal. If your notice reaches me less than 30 days before the start date, the deposit no longer covers the dates I can no longer sell, and the following share of the total price is due instead. The deposit counts towards that amount and is never added on top of it: from 29 to 15 days before the start, 50 percent of the total price; from 14 to 7 days, 75 percent; less than 7 days before the start, 100 percent. These amounts are the agreed price of a late withdrawal, and what I actually recover reduces them, as the next point explains. Costs you have taken on directly with third parties, such as huts, lifts or travel, sit outside this contract and follow the rules of the provider you booked with.
• If the dates are booked again. A withdrawal charge is never meant to leave me better off than the booking would have. If I manage to reserve the same dates for someone else at comparable conditions, I refund everything you paid above the deposit and I turn the deposit itself into a credit valid 12 months on any of my activities, less a fixed administrative amount of 50 euro. If only part of the dates is taken, the charge is reduced in the same proportion. You can also ask me to move your booking to another date instead of withdrawing: where I can, I do it, the deposit moves with the booking, the price of the new date applies and an administrative amount of 50 euro may be charged.
• Sending someone in your place. Up to 7 days before the start you can transfer your booking to another person, provided they meet the requirements of the program and accept these terms. Write to me with their details. An administrative amount of 50 euro may apply, and you and the person taking your place are jointly liable for the price and for any additional cost the transfer causes.
• No show and interruption. If you do not appear at the meeting point, arrive in a condition that makes participation impossible (too late for the objective, without the required equipment, not fit to start), or leave a program after it has begun, the full price remains due and days not used are not refunded. This is the case that travel cancellation insurance exists for (section 9).

In serious situations (for example proven illness or injury) I will try to find a fair solution, such as rescheduling or a credit, taking into account planning already done and third party costs already incurred; a cancellation insurance is the reliable way to cover these cases (section 9). Please note: under Art. 59(1)(n) of the Italian Consumer Code (implementing Art. 16(l) of Directive 2011/83/EU), the 14-day right of withdrawal does not apply to leisure services with a specific date or period of performance, such as the activities booked on this website. The cancellation policy described in this section applies instead.

7. Changes and cancellations due to conditions or by the guide

What happens when the mountain, or the guide, forces a change or a cancellation.

The mountain changes from one day to the next. Weather, snowpack, rockfall, glacier conditions or other factors may require changes. So:

• The guide may change the itinerary (route, summit, valley, length, meeting point) for risk management or quality reasons.
• Reaching a specific summit or line is never guaranteed. The objective is a high-quality day with the risk kept as low as reasonably possible, given the conditions and the group.
• If I must cancel the activity before it starts (weather, conditions, risk assessment, force majeure, or guide illness or emergency) and cannot offer an equivalent alternative, you choose between a full refund of the amounts paid and rescheduling to another agreed date. The choice is yours. The refund always includes the deposit. This is not a withdrawal on my side: it is a case where the activity has become impossible or cannot be run with the risk kept low, so nothing further is owed by either of us.
• If I cancel for a reason within my control that has nothing to do with risk assessment, conditions or force majeure, you receive back every amount you have paid plus an additional amount equal to the deposit, or, if you prefer, priority rebooking at no extra cost on a date you choose. The choice is yours.
• Once the day has started. If I set off and conditions force me to shorten the route, change the objective or turn back, the day counts as performed and is not refunded: you have received the guiding service, which is what this contract covers. On a program of several days, if I have to stop for conditions or on risk assessment grounds, the days not guided are refunded or credited at your choice, while third party costs already committed for those days follow section 4. If I never leave the meeting point because conditions do not allow it, the day is treated as a cancellation before the start under the point above.
• I am not responsible for external costs outside my control (travel, accommodation, lifts, rentals, other providers), even if the plan changes or is cancelled.
• Departures that do not fill. An open group date can be cancelled if nobody joins by the response deadline shown for that departure. If that happens, everything you have paid is refunded in full, deposit included. If the group has partly filled, I write to you at the deadline with the final price and you are free to keep the date, move to another date or withdraw at no cost, as described in section 4.
• A different guide. If I cannot lead the day myself, I may arrange for another IFMGA/UIAGM certified guide of equivalent qualification for the objective to take my place, and I tell you in advance. If that is not possible, the points above apply. A substitution is never a reason to increase the price.

8. Participant responsibilities and fitness

What I expect of you, and when the guide can stop your participation.

Participants commit to:

• Give truthful and complete information about your experience, your fitness and any medical condition relevant to the activity, and tell me if anything changes before the start. I plan the objective, the pace and the prudential margins on what you tell me: if the information is wrong or incomplete, the consequences are yours, including exclusion under the note below. For demanding objectives I may ask for a medical certificate of fitness, or for a shorter trial day, before accepting the booking.
• Arrive with the required equipment in good condition, as per gear list.
• Follow the instructions and decisions of the guide, especially around risk management, pacing and turn-around times.
• Respect other participants, local rules, landowners and hut staff.
• Equipment I lend you. Technical equipment I provide (for example avalanche transceiver, harness, helmet, crampons, ice axe) is certified and checked, is lent for the activity only, and is returned in the condition in which you received it. Loss or damage beyond normal wear is charged at replacement value. Items rented rather than lent are charged at the price shown on the activity page. Arriving with unsuitable personal equipment and refusing the alternative I offer means the day cannot go ahead, and the note below applies.
• Participants under 18. A minor can only be booked by the person holding parental responsibility, who accepts these terms on their behalf, provides the information required for the activity, including health information, and stays reachable for the whole day. Some activities require an accompanying adult on the day; where that is the case, the program says so.

The guide can exclude anyone whose behaviour, equipment or fitness increases risk for the group, at any moment, including during the activity, and without refund where the situation was caused by missing or incorrect information or by not following instructions. Decisions taken on the mountain about route, pace, turn around time and interruption belong to the guide and are final. One participant who cannot continue can oblige the whole group to turn back; where that happens the cost of an early return, of transport and of any accommodation is borne by the participant concerned.

9. Insurance & third-party costs

The insurance you need, and the costs that are never in the guiding fee.

Mountain activities involve residual risk. Each participant is responsible for adequate insurance, which may include:

• • Rescue and medical insurance valid for the activity you have booked, including off piste skiing, mountaineering and helicopter rescue, with no geographic or altitude limit that would exclude your objective.
• • Cancellation insurance, which is the normal way to cover the amounts that stay due under section 6 when you cannot come.
• • Personal accident and liability insurance, where appropriate.

Unless stated otherwise, guiding fees do not include insurance. Search, rescue, medical treatment, evacuation and early return are charged by the services that provide them: if you are not insured, they are yours to pay in full. I carry a professional liability policy: it covers my liability towards you, it is not accident insurance for you, and its details and coverage limit go out with your booking confirmation (Art. 5 of Presidential Decree 137/2012).

10. Liability and limitations

A guide owes skill and judgement, not a summit. What that means for liability.

I operate with care and professionalism, in line with applicable regulations. However, inherent risks cannot be fully eliminated.

• What I owe you is a professional performance carried out with the diligence required of a mountain guide (Article 1176, second paragraph, of the Italian Civil Code), not a result. Reaching a summit, a line or a specific point is never part of what is promised. Mountain activities keep a residual risk that competence, equipment and judgement reduce but do not remove, and the presence of a certified guide does not remove it either. By booking you accept that residual risk.
• Nothing in these terms limits or excludes my liability for wilful misconduct or gross negligence: any clause that did so would be void in advance (Article 1229 of the Italian Civil Code). The same applies to liability for death or personal injury where the law does not permit a limitation. Your mandatory rights as a consumer, including under Articles 33 and following of the Italian Consumer Code, are never affected by anything written here.
• I am not liable for circumstances outside reasonable control (natural events, authority decisions, lift/road closures, third parties).
• Where the performance involves the solution of technical problems of particular difficulty, Article 2236 of the Italian Civil Code applies as the law provides.

Your mandatory statutory consumer rights remain unaffected.

11. Personal data and privacy

Where to find out how I handle your personal data.

I process personal data in connection with bookings, payments, communication and operation of this website in accordance with my Privacy policy , which forms an integral part of these terms. It explains in particular the health information collected for participants, the explicit consent required for it under Article 9(2)(a) GDPR, and how long each category of data is kept.

12. Photos, video and storytelling

I publish photos and video only if you say yes, separately and after the activity.

During the activity I may take photographs and short videos. Keeping them and sharing them with you is part of the experience. Publishing them, on the website, in print or on social media, happens only if you give a separate written consent, which I ask for after the activity. Consent is free: refusing it or withdrawing it changes nothing about your booking, your price or the way I work with you.

If you have given consent and change your mind, write to me and I remove the material from my own channels as soon as I can; material already shared onward by other people may be outside my control. Images of participants under 18 are published only with the consent of the person holding parental responsibility.

13. Applicable law and jurisdiction

Italian law, your own court as a consumer, how to complain and to whom.

The guiding contract and these terms are governed by Italian law. If you book as a consumer resident or domiciled in Italy, disputes belong exclusively to the court of your place of residence or elective domicile (Art. 66-bis of the Italian Consumer Code). If you are a consumer in another EU country, the mandatory protections of your own country, including the rules on jurisdiction, remain unaffected. In every other case, including bookings made by a business, the courts of Trento are competent.

Complaints. If something is wrong, tell the guide on the spot, while it can still be put right. A formal complaint should reach me in writing within 30 days of the end of the activity, with the booking reference and a description of what happened. I reply within 15 working days. This procedure does not limit your right to go to court or to an ADR body at any time.

The European ODR platform has been discontinued (Regulation (EU) 2024/3228). For consumer disputes you can turn to the ADR bodies listed in the Italian ministerial register, for example the Conciliation Service of the Trento Chamber of Commerce. If a complaint is not resolved, I will provide you on a durable medium with the information on the competent ADR body, stating whether I intend to use it (Art. 141-sexies of the Italian Consumer Code).

14. Final provisions

Housekeeping: written form, severability, and which version of these terms governs your booking.

If any provision is found invalid or unenforceable, the rest stays in force and the invalid provision is replaced by the statutory rule closest to its purpose. Amendments and special agreements are valid only in writing. I may change these terms for future bookings; the version that governs your booking is the one you accepted when you booked, which I keep on record and send you on request. Your mandatory rights as a consumer are never affected.

Last updated: August 2026 (version 2026-08.2).