Refunds and Cancellations
Mountain Trip recognizes how difficult and disappointing it can be for climbers who must cancel expeditions which they have planned for a long time. Team members must also recognize that, due to the nature of planning expeditions and dealing with governmental permits and regulations, Mountain Trip also accrues significant expenses in the months prior to expedition departure dates. We must therefore adhere to a strict refund policy for all climbers. Trip cancellation and travel insurance is generally available for all expeditions. U.S. and Canadian residents should contact us for more information regarding travel insurance. Our refund and cancellation policy is outlined below.
• All expeditions require a $1500 deposit to secure a spot on the team. Your submission of a deposit constitutes your acceptance of this Fee Schedule, Refund and Cancellation Policy.
• All deposits for Aconcagua expeditions include a non-refundable $750 administration fee (we highly recommend that you consider Trip Cancellation Insurance to protect the administration fee, if not the entire cost of your climb).
• Final payments for expeditions must be received 120 days prior to the Team Meeting Day.
• Failure to pay expedition fees by the date they are due constitutes cancellation of your spot on the team and forfeiture of your deposit.
• Any cancellation 120+ days before your Meeting Day will be refunded in full, less the administration fee.
• If you cancel 120-90 days before your Meeting Day, you are eligible for a refund of 50% of any monies paid, less the deposit.
• No refunds will be provided for cancellations occurring within the last 89 days prior to an expedition.
• All requests for refunds must be made in writing and received in our Colorado office.
• If you register for a climb within 90 days of the Team Meeting Date, expedition fees will be due in full to secure your spot on the team.
• No refunds will be given for unused hotel bookings due to schedule changes, late arrivals, etc.
• Mountain Trip reserves the right to cancel an expedition prior to the departure date for any reason. In such an event, all monies collected by Mountain Trip from team members for that expedition shall be promptly refunded. This is the extent of our financial liability.
Inclusions and Exclusions
Included in the Trip Fee:
• Unlimited pre-trip access to our office resources
• Mountain Trip guide(s)
• Airport transfers
• Up to two nights accommodation in Mendoza (shared room) Inquire about single room options.
• Welcome dinner in Mendoza
• Up to two nights accommodation and all meals in Penitentes (shared room) Inquire about single room options.
• Scheduled mule services for the team
• Trailhead transfers
• All food for the approach and climb, including grilled dinners on the approach, full Base Camp meal services, and delicious on-mountain meals
• Porter services for group gear for all on-mountain camps
• All group equipment (tents, kitchen, ropes, med kit, satellite phone)
• Custom expedition dispatch blog for your climb, complete with podcasts from the mountain
• Assistance arranging for post-climb activities such as wine tours, rafting, etc.
Not Included in the Trip Fee:
• Flights to and from Argentina
• Personal clothing and equipment
• Meals beyond the welcome dinner in Mendoza
• Additional nights’ accommodation in Argentina
• Mountaineering fee (for the 2019/2020 season $965 for US citizens) paid to the Argentine Park Service
• Base Camp showers and beverages beyond those provided in our meal program
• Additional porter services
• Travel and/or rescue insurance
• Costs incurred due to evacuation or unplanned departure from the mountain due to illness or other problems
• Costs incurred as a result of delays beyond the control of Mountain Trip
• Customary gratuities for guides and local staff
• Costs as a result of force majeure
General Agreement Concerning Services to be Provided And Responsibilities of Team Members
When registering for an expedition with Mountain Trip we want to help make sure you understand the services we are providing and the services you are responsible for.
Transportation is incidental
The main purpose of becoming a team member is to join us on an expedition in the mountains. As such any transportation we provide or that you may contract for on your own is incidental to the trip. We suggest that you make sure you have time built into your itinerary for delays.
Transportation to and from your destination
We will designate a specific Team Meeting Day for your expedition. Transportation to the meeting point on your Team Meeting Day is to be provided by you. You must arrive in time to be ready to participate in a team meeting at the appointed time on the Team Meeting Day for your expedition. Expedition climbing is very dynamic and we will provide you with a recommendation as to when you should book your flights to and from your destination. We suggest you book a ticket that allows you to change your flight with little effort or cost.
Lodging off the mountain
Mountain Trip will provide lodging per the Inclusions and Exclusions section above. Any additional lodging is your responsibility. Don’t worry about booking a room after your expedition. We generally don’t know how long we’ll be in the mountains, and we can help arrange lodging when we return to “civilization.”
Responsibilities of Team Members
You are ultimately responsible for your own well-being, including making all necessary preparations to ensure good health and physical conditioning. You are responsible for understanding the conditions that may exist on the climb and choosing a climb that is appropriate for your abilities and interests. You are responsible for having knowledge of all pre-departure information and for assembling the appropriate clothing and equipment for your climb.
While on the expedition, team members are responsible to maintain basic levels of hygiene and to conduct themselves respectfully with other team members and members of the local population. If a guide feels that a team member is putting other members’ health or safety at risk, the guide has the discretion to remove a team member from an expedition.
Use our office staff and your lead guide as pre-trip resources to ensure that all your questions are answered. Travel insurance may help recoup expenses if you need to leave an expedition due to an illness.
Airline Responsibility Passenger/Airline contracts are in effect while team members are on board any aircraft contracted for use in the expedition.
No Guaranteed Outcomes
While it is one of our goals to help every climber on every Mountain Trip expedition reach the summit, Mountain Trip cannot guarantee that you will reach the summit. Any number of factors, including weather, the conditions encountered on the route, your personal level of fitness or ability, the abilities of your team mate(s) or any number of other circumstances might result in you and/or your team turning around before reaching the summit. Failure to reach the summit due to any reason associated with mountaineering, such as weather, team dynamics, route conditions, avalanche hazard, rockfall hazard, etc, or due to your lack of fitness or preparation are not the responsibility of Mountain Trip and will not result in a refund or a rescheduling of your expedition.
DAY 2: DRIVE TO PENITENTES. We’ll pick up our climbing permits in the morning and then drive 2.5 hours to the ski resort of Penitentes where we will organize our gear for the “arrieros” (mule drivers) to carry in on our three day approach to Base Camp. High Season permit cost was increased to roughly $900 in 2013, for non-Argentine residents. We’ll eat and sleep one last night in a hotel at 9,000 ft (2750 m) before hitting the trail in the morning.
DAY 4: HIKE TO CASA DE PIEDRA. A similar day of hiking with light day packs rewards us with a fantastic view of Aconcagua! We’ll make camp at 10,000 ft (3050 m), at the junction of the Relinchos and Vacas Valleys. An old smuggler’s hut was erected here decades ago, and gives the spot its name, Casa de Piedra (House of Stone). Again, we’ll grill dinner over a fire and enjoy the congeniality of our arriero hosts.
DAY 7: LOAD CARRYING DAY TO CAMP 1. We’ll load up our personal kits with everything we won’t need for the next couple of days at base camp and carry it all up to Camp 1 at 16,300 (4970 m). Group gear, food and fuel will already be stocked at Camp 1, so your load should not be in excess of 35 lbs (16 Kg), and might be considerably less. The trail ascends along the side of a steep gully, next to a dead glacier covered in rocks. Fields of penitents (tall fins of snow formed by wind and solar radiation) line the gully and a 500’ (160 m) high field guards the access to Camp 1. Winding our way through this is a fun, memorable stretch of climbing. Have your camera ready!
DAY 11: MOVE UP TO CAMP 2 (HELICOPTER CAMP). The views here are staggering! The summit of Cerro Ameghino is just to our east, to the north we can see the 22,000 ft. (6700 m) Cerro Mercedario dominating the horizon and the array of peaks above the Gussfeldt Glacier to our north are pretty inspiring. This move only takes a few hours, so we can take our time and make certain that our camp is fully fortified and still enjoy the evening light, when Ameghino is bathed in alpenglow. The name Helicopter Camp comes from the bits and pieces of a crashed helicopter, which still adorn the camp, more than a dozen years after the crash.
DAY 19: HIKE OUT THE HORCONES VALLEY/BACK TO MENDOZA. The hike out the Horcones Valley goes relatively quickly as it’s mostly a gradual descent and we only have our daypacks to carry. Mules will carry out the majority of our kit. The valley is huge and fascinating, both aesthetically as well as geologically. About 5 hours into our hike, we will stop at the Confluencia Camp for a nice lunch break (pizzas!). At the mouth of the valley we’ll check out with the park rangers and the team can choose to either stay in Penitentes, or return to Mendoza.