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Terms and Conditions of Purchase

Welcome, please pay special attention and read all the terms & conditions, and cancellation policy below before purchasing your Aurora Backcountry Trip.

Please read these terms and conditions (“Terms”) carefully. These Terms (in their entirety) constitute a binding agreement between you and 1567235 Alberta Ltd, doing business as Aurora Backcountry, including its subsidiaries and affiliates (“Aurora”, “we” or “us”). By purchasing an Aurora Backcountry trip or other service, you are agreeing, on behalf of yourself and all other individuals that you book for, to be bound by these Terms. You further agree that you are acting as an agent for such other individuals and these Terms shall apply to them.

1. Guide Operations

Aurora Backcountry has the right, in its sole and absolute discretion, to operate its guiding program in the manner it deems appropriate in its sole and exclusive judgment. Aurora Backcountry’s right to operate in the manner it deems appropriate includes, but is not limited to, the right to modify or cancel any program or service without reason or notice.
AURORA BACKCOUNTRY GUIDES RESERVE THE RIGHT TO CANCEL ANY DAY AT ANY TIME IF THE GUIDE DEEMS THE RISK OF INJURY OR DEATH IS TOO GREAT TO MANAGE.
This can happen at any time during the day or even the morning of the trip. Aurora Backcountry does not take responsibility for any expenses the guest may have incurred before or after the cancellation. Guides are subject to change at Aurora Backcountry’s discretion.

2. No Guarantee

AURORA BACKCOUNTRY DOES NOT MAKE ANY GUARANTEES WITH RESPECT TO ITS TRIPS, OR OTHER SERVICES FROM SEPARATE PROVIDERS THAT AURORA BACKCOUNTRY ACTED AS A SALES AGENT FOR.
For example, your purchase of any Aurora Backcountry trip, or your booking with a company that Aurora Backcountry acted as the sales agent for, does not guarantee:
  • Any particular guest experience or your satisfaction with your guest experience at or with any trip location, service, or guided trip;
  • Your admission to any trip or package, which is subject to, among other things, capacity constraints based on guest-to-guide ratio and minimum number of guests required to operate; or
  • Any specific objective, peak, line, route, or terrain feature. Aurora Backcountry guides to conditions and terrain, not to specific objectives. The trip itself is the service being purchased, not any particular outcome.

3. Release of Liability, Assumption of Risks, and Indemnity Agreement

All participants of any Aurora Backcountry trip or service must review and agree to the Release of Liability, Waiver of Claims, Assumption of Risk and Indemnity Agreement (the “Waiver”) as a condition of participating. The Waiver is delivered through our booking platform and must be acknowledged by each participant individually before participation. Participants who did not make the booking, or who are added or substituted after the original booking, will be sent the Waiver through the same booking workflow and must complete it before being permitted to participate.
PLEASE READ THE WAIVER CAREFULLY! By signing you waive or give up certain legal rights, including the right to sue for negligence, breach of contract, or breach of any Occupiers Liability Act, or claim compensation following an accident.
You will not be eligible for a refund based on any failure or refusal to acknowledge the Waiver. If you are booking for other guests, it is your responsibility to ensure they understand and complete the Waiver requirement.

4. Participant Acknowledgments

At the time of booking, each participant will be sent the required booking tasks through our booking platform, including a Terms and Conditions acknowledgment and a participant intake form. All booking tasks must be completed by each participant before they will be permitted to participate in any Aurora Backcountry trip or service. ANY PARTICIPANT, including those who did not make the initial booking, those who take the place of a guest who decided not to attend, or those who are added to a booking at any time before the trip, will be sent the same booking tasks and must complete them. Failure or refusal to complete the required booking tasks will result in that participant being denied participation, with no refund. The original booker remains bound by these Terms regardless of whether substituted or added participants complete their booking tasks.

5. Payment Schedule and Authorization

All bookings must be secured by deposit or full payment at the time of booking.
  • Bookings made MORE than 30 days before the trip start date: The customer may select a scheduled payment plan or pay in full at the time of booking. The scheduled payment plan presented at booking consists of the deposit due at booking plus subsequent installments billed automatically to the payment method on file on the dates shown at booking.
  • Bookings made LESS than 30 days before the trip start date: Full payment is required at the time of booking.
By selecting a scheduled payment plan, you authorize Aurora Backcountry to automatically charge the payment method on file for each scheduled installment on the dates shown. It is your responsibility to keep your payment method valid and to update it before any scheduled charge date.
Failed payments. If a scheduled payment fails, you must communicate with Aurora Backcountry within seven (7) days of the failed payment to resolve the issue. If no communication is received within seven (7) days, your booking will be cancelled, all amounts previously paid will be forfeit, and your seat will be returned to inventory for resale.

6. Cancellation Policy

Aurora Backcountry strictly enforces its cancellation policy. ALL PAYMENTS RECEIVED BY AURORA BACKCOUNTRY ARE NON-REFUNDABLE. We strongly recommend purchasing trip cancellation insurance to protect your investment. All cancellation requests must be received in writing by email to [email protected].
A. Customer-initiated cancellations.
No refunds will be issued on payments received, regardless of how far in advance notice is given. At Aurora Backcountry’s sole discretion, the following options may be made available:
  • Amounts paid may be applied as a credit toward a future Aurora Backcountry trip booked within one (1) year of May 15th following the cancelled trip date. Unused credit is forfeit.
  • Your booking may be transferred to a different trip date within the same season, subject to availability.
No refunds or credits will be issued for:
  • Injury, sickness, or personal reasons;
  • No-shows, missed cancellations, late arrivals, or early departures;
  • Lack of ability or fitness;
  • Failure to bring proper or required equipment;
  • Failure or refusal to complete required booking tasks, including Waiver acknowledgment;
  • Failure or refusal to attend the required Avalanche Safety Briefing.
B. Aurora-initiated cancellations.
Multi-day trips: If a single day within a multi-day trip is cancelled or modified by Aurora Backcountry for any reason — including weather, snow conditions, avalanche risk, terrain limitations, or operational issues — no refund or credit will be issued for that day. The trip itself, not any specific route or objective, is the service being purchased. This applies whether the day is cancelled in advance, in the morning, or once the day has begun.
Standalone day trips: If Aurora Backcountry cancels a standalone single-day service (such as a private day trip) more than 24 hours before the scheduled start, a full refund will be issued for the day rate (the service fee remains non-refundable). No refund will be issued for a standalone day trip cancelled within 24 hours of start, or once the day has begun, regardless of the reason for cancellation.
Heli-Assist Ski Touring: See Section 12.
Third-party operated trips and services: See Section 13. Where a trip or service is operated by a third party, that operator’s cancellation and refund terms govern that service.
Acts of God / catastrophic events: See Section 10. Acts of God override the refund provisions in this section. No refunds are issued for cancellations caused by Acts of God or catastrophic external events, regardless of whether the day is standalone or part of a multi-day trip.
C. Expenses outside of Aurora Backcountry.
Expenses incurred by guests outside of amounts paid directly to Aurora Backcountry — including but not limited to travel, lodging, meals, gear, and insurance — are not refundable by Aurora Backcountry under any circumstances.

7. Service Fee

A service fee is added to every booking at the time of purchase. The service fee covers payment processing and administrative costs and is non-refundable under any circumstances, including in the event of cancellation by Aurora Backcountry, Acts of God, or any refund or credit issued for any other reason.

8. Currency

All trips are priced in the trip’s set currency by default. At the time of booking, you may select an alternate available currency. Once a booking is confirmed, all subsequent payments (including scheduled installments) will be charged in the selected currency at the time each charge is made. Currency conversion rates are determined by our payment processor and may fluctuate between the booking date and the date of any subsequent payment. Aurora Backcountry is not responsible for currency conversion rates, exchange rate fluctuations, or fees charged by your card issuer or bank.

9. Minimum and Maximum Attendance

A minimum number of people are required to be signed up for a trip in order for the trip to run. If less than the minimum have signed up, Aurora Backcountry will fill the remaining seats any way it can. This may result in a heavily discounted trip being advertised. This does not entitle guests who are already signed up to the discounted price or any refund of the difference.

10. Acts of God

If a season, trip, or day is cancelled for any catastrophic reason, NO REFUNDS will be issued. Examples of catastrophic reasons include, but are not limited to: lack of snow, government lockdowns, backcountry closures, war, highway or road closures, terrorism, pandemics or epidemics (including COVID-19 or any successor), earthquake, fire, meteor strike, or any natural disaster. Trip Cancellation Insurance is HIGHLY recommended for these scenarios.

11. Avalanche Safety Briefing

All guests are required to complete a basic Avalanche Safety Briefing on the morning of day 1 of their trip. If an individual cannot attend this briefing, they will be required to have a one-on-one briefing with their guide before participating. If a guest chooses not to participate in this safety briefing, they will not be allowed to participate in the Aurora Backcountry service and no refund will be given.

12. Heli-Assist Ski Touring

Heli-Assist Ski Touring is available as an add-on to certain trips. To secure a Heli-Assist Ski Touring upgrade, full payment for the day is required at the time the add-on is added to your booking, regardless of when the trip start date occurs. Full payment is required to reserve the helicopter.
HELI-ASSIST SKI TOURING IS NON-CANCELLABLE AND NON-REFUNDABLE BY THE CUSTOMER UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES.
If Aurora Backcountry cancels a Heli-Assist Ski Touring day for any reason — including weather, mechanical issues, or operator unavailability — the amount paid for the Heli-Assist Ski Touring add-on will be refunded in full or, at the customer’s option, applied as a credit toward a future booking. Cancellation of a Heli-Assist day does not entitle the customer to a refund of any portion of the underlying trip.

13. Third-Party Operated Trips and Services

Certain trips and services offered by Aurora Backcountry are operated by independent third-party operators rather than by Aurora Backcountry. This includes, but is not limited to, helicopter skiing and other heli-supported services provided by operators such as Alpine Heli-Ski, Northern Escape, and operators located in New Zealand and other regions. For these trips and services, Aurora Backcountry acts only as a sales agent and is not the operator. Aurora Backcountry is not responsible for the operation, performance, safety, equipment, staffing, scheduling, or conduct of any third-party operator.
Each third-party operator sets its own terms and conditions, including its own cancellation and refund policy, which may be stricter or more lenient than Aurora Backcountry’s. For any trip or service operated by a third party, that operator’s terms and conditions govern that trip or service and prevail to the extent of any conflict with these Terms. For example, a third-party heli-ski operator may apply a 24-hour cancellation window. It is your responsibility to read and comply with the applicable third-party operator’s terms, which will be provided or made available to you at or before the time of booking.
These Terms continue to apply to you in full for all matters not governed by the third-party operator’s terms, and apply to the third-party trip or service except where they conflict with the operator’s terms. Where the third-party operator’s terms do not address a matter, Aurora Backcountry’s Terms apply.
Any refund available under a third-party operator’s terms is subject to that operator’s approval and is limited to amounts actually received back by Aurora Backcountry from that operator. Aurora Backcountry’s service fee remains non-refundable in all cases (see Section 7). Aurora Backcountry is not responsible for refunding amounts that a third-party operator does not return.
You may be required to complete a third-party operator’s own waiver, release, or participant agreements in addition to Aurora Backcountry’s Waiver and booking tasks. Failure to complete any required third-party document may result in denial of participation by the operator, with no refund.

14. Add-Ons

Add-ons — including but not limited to Heli-Assist Ski Touring, gear rental, lodging upgrades, and any other optional services offered during the booking process — are confirmed at the time of purchase. Unless specifically stated otherwise for a particular add-on, all amounts paid for add-ons are non-refundable on the same terms as the underlying trip (see Section 6). Specific add-ons may carry additional terms; where they do, those additional terms govern (e.g., Heli-Assist Ski Touring, see Section 12). Where Aurora Backcountry cancels a paid add-on service in circumstances not otherwise specified, the amount paid for that specific add-on will be refunded or credited at Aurora Backcountry’s discretion.

15. Equipment

All guests must have the appropriate equipment. Lack of proper equipment does not warrant last-minute cancellations or refunds. NO REFUND will be issued to guests showing up with inappropriate, defective, or insufficient equipment. It is the guest’s responsibility to have available all equipment listed on the equipment list. This equipment list is provided in the trip itinerary, which is sent to each guest when they sign up or are added to a booking.