Booking, Prices and General Information

Reservations

All reservations have to be mailed/faxed or sent by email to Swiss Guides before the trip. Trips are only reserved once I have a reservation in my hand. It makes sense to make a reservation as it guarantees your preferred date, hut reservations, etc. Reservations can also be done by phone on short notice if there is availability.

Included in the Price

The price includes the daily fee for an IFMGA certified mountain guide. Not included are the guide's or the guest's expenses.

In other arrangements we include guide's fee, guide's expenses huts, trains, travel costs, the guest's hut fee and half board. For detailed prices, please check our prices and registration pages. Not included are travel expenses, bus or trams, hotels, lunches, drinks, equipment or insurance.

Payment

All payment must be made in cash prior to the start of the trip via direct money transfer. A check can be used for the down payment of 30%. All payment has to be in Swiss Francs or in US dollars in accordance to the exchange rate at the time of the trip. I do not state US$ anymore due to extreme daily fluxation.

Insurance

Please check that you have insurance coverage for the following: health, accident, liability, cancellation, and foreign travel. The court of justice will be Interlaken, Canton Bern, in Switzerland. For all mountaineering tours I highly recommend purchasing an American Alpine Club (AAC) membership for rescue coverage $ 70.00 Please purchase the insurances before leaving the US. The American Alpine Club (AAC) membership is not giving you cheaper hut fees ass the AAC cancelled that program. If you have a SAC or any other Alpine club membership please bring the card along for cheaper hut fees. You can also purchase a Card Neige for 59.00 Euros (covers Frances only) or REGA membership for CHF 30.00 (covers Switzerland only) in Chamonix at the tourist office or the Swiss REGA on the internet www.rega.ch for air rescue coverage during the tour. Please ensure you have the rescue coverage before starting any trip.

Weather

This is an extremely important subject for me. The weather is quite different than Utah or California in the summers. We get a lot of rain, and it can snow down to 2,500 meters at any point during the summer. We call that phenomenon "mini winter". You can have true winter conditions for short periods of time. This may mean that flexibility in your schedule offers you more opportunity for success. Flexibility in which peak you would like also allows us to change to another area in Switzerland, France, Italy or Austria. Most likely the weather will be fine somewhere close by, so we can climb\ski another peak and get some mountaineering done. You have a better chance of climbing if you allow for other options as opposed to hunkering down during a blizzard, hoping the weather will improve. If you are too fixed on a certain summit or climb, you might be missing out and not doing any climbing at all in the Alps. It is the experience that counts!

In the event of bad weather or conditions, I or any mountain guide working with me holds the singular right to cancel the trip and/or suggest an alternative tour. In the event that the client wishes to cancel the pre-arranged trip, without the advice of the mountain guide, be it due to weather (e.g. rain, cloudy weather), the climb, or other non-emergency situations, the client is still responsible for paying the full fee. If a guest decides to take a rest day or quit before the trip is over, no refund will be granted.

Min./Max. in a Group set up

In case you book a group trip and there are not enough participants, you have following options:

Based on the agreement of all involved, the participants make up the difference in the costs for an upgraded fee.
The trip will be cancelled. All expenses will be paid back.

Important Notice

Climbing and skiing are inherently dangerous. The risks involved (such as unpredictable conditions and weather) cannot be totally alleviated, but they can be reduced greatly through careful preparation on the part of the guide as well as the client. I will be on the same rope with you, and I am planning on returning home to my 2 small children after every trip. The more physically fit and mentally prepared you are, the more enjoyable your trip will be. You can experience one of the most memorable moments in your life in the mountains, so let's get you prepared for it. You as a guest can add a tremendous amount to the level of safety involved by being physically fit, mentally prepared and following the directions of your guide.

Switzerland HQ