Terms and Conditions

Dear Fellow Transalp Riders,

it is in our mutual interest that you carefully read the Terms and Conditions that define the contractual agreement that you enter in with TRANSALP RIDERS e.K. (henceforth called TRANSALP RIDERS) once you book a tour.

Important Prerequisites: Please ensure that you comfortably meet the levels of technical competence and fitness that are required for the tour of your choice as spelled out in the description of each individual tour descriptions and the associated tour rating Also make sure to have read and agree to abide by the Safety Guidelines that we have drafted to ensure the well-being of our guests on our tours.

Last but not least, it is paramount that you carefully read and are willing to sign our Release of Liability, Assumption of Risks and Indemnity Agreement before committing to your tour. Failure to sign the agreement will prevent you from joining the tour. A copy of this particular form will be sent to you with a confirmation of your reservation once you’ve submitted your tour application.

• Terms and Conditions

• Safety Guidelines for Our Guests

• Release of Liability, Assumption of Risks and Indemnity Agreement

Your consent with these documents is implicit once you book a tour and constitutes a part of the overall legal agreement that summarizes the mutual rights and obligations between you and TRANSALP RIDERS in consideration of the German Travel Contract Law (§§651 a-l, BGB).

Terms and Conditions

1. Tour Reservation and Bookings with TRANSALP RIDERS eK

   You can reserve space on the tour of your choice by phone, email or by making use of our secure online reservation form. You may also make a reservation for travel companions in which case, however, you will be partially responsible for them abiding by the contractual obligations spelled out by the Terms and Conditions.

   A confirmation of your reservation by TRANSALP RIDERS signifies a contractual agreement, which necessitates us to keep your personal information on file and further requires us by law to present you with an insolvency insurance certificate for your peace of mind. You can expect a response to your reservation from us within 2 days of receipt if you indicate a preference to be contacted by email or fax on the reservation form, and within 10 days if you prefer notification by regular mail.

2. Terms of Payment

   Upon receipt of our confirmation of your reservation and our invoice, we request a deposit of Euro € 200.- per person within 14 days in order to hold your space(s) on the tour of your choice. Failure to provide this deposit within the two-week period implies a cancellation of all further contractual obligations by either party.

   The balance of your payment is due 30 days prior to your tour departure including all applicable payments for bike rentals or single surcharges (please refer to tour descriptions if and where applicable).

   We accept payments of the tour deposit and the balance of your tour only in Euros by:

   1. credit card (MASTERCARD and VISA)
   2. international money order, or
   3. traveler’s cheques.
   
   

   To reduce the unauthorized or in a fraudulent use of credit cards, we accept your credit card information only by phone or fax and request some proof of identy by the card holder if the card used for payment is not written in the name of the tour participant.

3. Switching Tours or Tour Participants after a Booking Confirmation

   It is generally possible to transfer your deposit to another tour in our program, if there is sufficient space available and your request is received at least 31 days prior to the initially intended departure date. Tour transfers cannot be accepted for any tour departing in less than 30 days or in another calendar year. An administrative fee of € 50.- will be applied to each tour transfer.

   It is possible - until 14 days prior to the tour departure - to designate another person who will participate in your place, if (s)he clearly meets the specific tour prerequisites. However, you will still remain our contractual partner under this scenario and would be at least partially responsible for this substitute participant to abide by the contractual Terms and Conditions. An administrative fee of € 50.- will be charged for substitution of a tour participant.

4. Tour Services, Tour Amendments and Tour Cancellations

   The extent and types of services rendered by TRANSALP RIDERS is explained in the web pages ‘Dates and Prices’, ‘Tours’, ‘What’s Included’ as well as our pre-departure tour information pamphlet.

   TRANSALP RIDERS reserves the right to modify tour routes and accommodations as deemed necessary in keeping with legal responsibilities, to improve the quality of a tour or to accommodate the comfort and well-being of guests, which are insufficient grounds in themselves to constitute a reasonable basis for your tour cancellation. Booked tour participants will be informed in writing of any significant changes in the tour itinerary or other services rendered. We’ll make every effort to keep changes to a minimum, and to maintain our high standards of quality and customer service. Any guest requests that exceed the services described require our written confirmation.

   TRANSALP RIDERS reserves the right to cancel any tour that does not reach the minimum level of participation (indicated in the tour description) or that is threatened by higher forces out of our control. On the rare occasion when Transalp Riders may have to cancel a tour due to an insufficient number of participants, notification will be provided at least 30 days prior to the tour departure. If higher forces beyond our control necessitate a tour cancellation by TRANSALP RIDERS, full settlement and adequate compensation is achieved by (i) your acceptance of a tour of equal length and value; or (ii) the refund of all your payments received by TRANSALP RIDERS to date. TRANSALP RIDERS is not responsible for expenses incurred in preparation for any canceled tours, such as airline tickets, prepaid hotel reservations or travel insurance premiums.

   Guests who fail to provide the signed Release of Liability and Indemnity Agreement and personal information forms prior to tour departure will not be allowed to join the tour and the cancellation policy noted below applies. By returning the Reservation Form and sending in a tour deposit, guests certify that there are no physical conditions or other disabilities that would create a hazard to themselves or for other travelers. If such conditions were to arise and preclude your participation prior to or during the tour, the cancellation policy applies.

   TRANSALP RIDERS also reserves the right to decline a reservation or to refuse - within reason - further service during a tour to anyone whose health or behavior could impede the welfare or enjoyment of fellow guests.

   Tour prices are qoted and to be paid in € (Euros). TRANSALP RIDERS reserves the right to adjust tour prices subject to foreign currency fluctuations up to 30 days priorto tour departure. If such adjustments were to exceed 5%, TRANSALP RIDERS has the obligation to justify a price increase in a manner that is transparent to tour participants who, if they coose to, are entitled to withdraw from the contract and a full refund of payments already made to TRANSALP RIDERS for a given tour. Such a refund does not include expenses incurred in preparation for any canceled tour, such as airline tickets and travel insurance premiums.

   A decision to withdraw from the contract by you or TRANSALP RIDERS for the aforementioned reasons, has to be communicated without delay to the other party involved.

5. Cancellation Policy for Our Guests

   You may at any time before the tour departure withdraw from the contract. It is in your interest to do so in writing and as soon as possible once you have reached the decision to cancel your participation. Your cancellation takes effect at the end of the day of our receipt of your written notification.

   TRANSALP RIDERS is entitled to retain a portion of your payments to offset costs for services rendered and expenses incurred. The terms of such cancellation reimbursements are legally stipulated and as such are applied without exception. If for some unfortunate reason, you’re forced to cancel a reservation or booking prior to your tour departure:

   • 30 days or more, we refund your deposit less an administrative fee of € 75;
   • 29 to 22 days, we refund 80% of your tour payment;
   • 21 to 15 days, we refund 70% of your tour payment;
   • 14 to 7 days, we refund 55% of your tour payment;
   • 6 to 1 day, we refund 40% of your tour payment.
   • you don’t show, we refund 0% of your tour payment.
   
   

   We strongly encourage our guests to purchase tour cancellation insurance.

6. Exceptional Expenses

   Exceptional expenses incurred by TRANSALP RIDERS as a result of or in connection with your personal situtation or unexpected personal needs, will be charged to you and are due immediately after incurrence. Such exceptional expenses may include but are not limited to costs associated with your late arrival to the tour, early departure from the tour, search and rescue services or hospitalization expenses. If TRANSALP RIDERS was to agree to pay for such expenses up front in an emergency situation, your reimbursement will be required by the time of tour completion.

7. Obligations and Limitation of Liability of TRANSALP RIDERS

   If tour services were not to meet the terms of this contract, TRANSALP RIDERS will be liable within the precincts of German Travel Contract Law (§§651 a-l, BGB). In this case you are entitled to a reduction in the tour price paid or some form of compensation, which TRANSALP RIDERS may refuse to render if deemed unreasonable.

   TRANSALP RIDERS can choose to provide apt settlement by (i) correcting the deficiency within due time, or (ii) offering a substitute tour of equal value if this is deemed reasonable in the context of the damages incurred by you and does not constitute an unlawful change of the contract. You are required to immediately notify the tour leader or company management of service deficiencies, inadequate services rendered or breaches in the contract. Failure to inform tour leaders right away of your discontent, voids your entitlement for potential compensation or a reduction in the tour price paid.

   Your cancellation of a tour contract with TRANSALP RIDERS due to service deficiencies or inadequacies is only acceptable when your concerns can be deemed reasonable, are obvious to tour management and the circumstances are not corrected or cannot be corrected within an appropriate timeframe.

   The contractual liability of TRANSALP RIDERS for damages, excluding all personal injuries and bodily damages, is limited to three times the tour price if the damage was not incurred with purposeful resolve or gross negligence by tour management.

   The liability for criminal or misdemeanor charges resulting from unlawful actions by TRANSALP RIDERS or its subcontracted service providers, excluding all personal injuries and bodily damages and damages ensuing from purposeful resolve or gross negligence by tour management, is limited to three times the tour price.

   The liability of TRANSALP RIDERS is limited or even excluded in so far as claims are bound by various international legal agreements, or legislative guidelines that are based on these international agreements and bear on the services rendered by TRANSALP RIDERS, which may affect or even void your entitlement for a settlement of damages under certain circumstances.

   The liability of TRANSALP RIDERS does not extend to the services of public transportation agencies that provide third-party services to our tours. Claims for damage settlement are governed by their respective transportation regulations, which are freely made available to our guests upon request.

8. Caveat Emptor and Statute of Limitation

   Claims for settlement of damages resulting from contract violations have to be received by TRANSALP RIDERS in writing within one month of the date that the contract stipulates as the last day of the tour of concern. A guest may bring forth a claim after the one-month deadline if (s)he was unable to meet this cut-off date without fault of their own. The statute of limitations for claims by tour participants is one year from the contractually scheduled date that tour conclusion.

   The statute of limitation is deferred until the claim is rejected in writing and further negotiations are refused by either the tour participant or TRANSALP RIDERS. Entitlements stemming from unlawful action(s) are subject to a three-year statute of limitation.

9. Arbitration and Litigation

   These Terms and Conditions and any rights, duties and obligations as between TRANSALP RIDERS and its tour participants shall be governed by and interpreted solely in accordance with the applicable laws of the Federal Republic of Germany and no other jurisdiction. Any claim brought against TRANSALP RIDERS shall be sought to be settled, as a first measure, through arbitration outside of court by an ombudsperson in the community of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany.

   Any litigation involving the parties to this agreement, including any promotional materials, brochures or contracts that are underwritten in the United States of America or Canada, shall be brought forward solely within Germany and shall be within the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts at the seat of TRANSALP RIDERS’ business registration under the substantive law of the Federeal Republic of Germany.

10. Immigration and Health Regulations

    TRANSALP RIDERS's website provides their guests access to information on its website about the specific entry and health regulations that govern the countries our tours visit. However, guests are responsible to ensure timely application for and receipt of their travel documents and to meet all applicable country regulations.

11. Guest Responsibilities

    Tour participants are responsible for expenses (e.g., meals, transportation, or hotel costs) that are not specified as included in the tour price but may be required to get to or from the tour destinations (for more information refer to “What’s Included”).

    TRANSALP RIDERS tours are adventure tours, which entail many rewards but also inherent risks of accidents and injuries that are difficult to predict with any certainty and that - even under diligent and prudent guidance - may be difficult to prevent or avert entirely. Mountain biking in the Alps frequently requires travel in areas where by virtue of weather and terrain evacuation, rescue and access to medical facilities may temporarily be impossible or would be very difficult to reach in a timely manner. Guests have to accept the associated risks, be willing to prepare adequately for the tour, exercise prudence on the tour and assume significant responsibilities to ensure their well-being. Guests agree to participate voluntarily in the tour and assume the inherent risks by nature of the activity.

    In order to ensure a successful tour operation and to minimize travel risks, our guests are responsible for (i) choosing a tour that suits their level of fitness, competencies and state of health; (ii) following the tour guides’ direction; and (iii) respecting the rights and privacy of other tour members. An individual may be asked to leave a tour if the responsible tour leader feels that the person's continuing participation may prove detrimental to the individual or to the well-being or enjoyment of other guests.

12. Nullity of Individual Clauses

    The nullity of individual clasuses in this travel contract does not affect the validity of the overall travel contract.

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Safety Guidelines for Our Guests

The comfort, well-being and successful tour completion by our guests and their guides is paramount to all other operational considerations for TRANSALP RIDERS eK. We recognize the inherent risks of mountain biking, the vagaries of the mountain environments we operate in, and the necessity for appropriate tour preparation. As a response to these challenges, we have drafted risk management protocols that govern the particular tour activities we offer and the conduct of our guides, guests and business partners.We expect our guides to accept and comply by the following rules and regulations:

1. Guests are required to wear a helmet at all times when riding their bicycle. Helmets must meet US CPSC, Canadian CAN /CSA or equivalent European safety standards. It is the responsibility of each guest to ensure that his or her helmet satisfies this stipulation and is fully functional in terms of fit and age.

2. Guests are advised to use cleats, toe clips or toe straps only if they are experienced and completely comfortable with their safe use (clipping-in and releasing). While the use of cleats arguably translates into more powerful pedaling and, in certain types of terrain, can afford significant energy and safety advantages, it is left to the discretion of our guests to participate in our tours with conventional pedals.

3. guests are expected to have the technical bike-handling skills that are necessary to operate the equipment they choose to use during the tour with control and safely. During the guest orientation, guides will rehearse suitable riding techniques and the proper use of those bicycle components that may hold specific risks, such as cleats / toe straps, disk /cantilever brakes, front / full suspension systems. During the tour, guests will be advised to check their equipment prior to each day’s departure for functionality, wear and overall safety.

4. Our guides reserve the right to ask guests to wear protective clothing or dismount their bikes if (i) local custom, laws or regulations require or suggest doing so, (ii) the nature or surface of specific trail and path segments indicate unacceptable risks with regard to personal injury or environmental degradation, or (iii) ambient environmental conditions, such as weather or slippery surface conditions threaten harm.

5. Our guides have the responsibility to ensure the comfort and safety of our guests by traveling in a coherent group. This measure minimizes the risk to individuals of getting unduly separated from the tour and may require the peleton to make frequent stops to regroup and allow slower members to catch up to the group.

6. Our guides reserve the right to ask tour participants to stay with the guided group and adhere to the tour protocol(s) as indicated in pamphlets or during the guest orientation at the beginning of each tour. If individuals are unable or unwilling to do so, they may be asked by the tour leader to join a group more suitable to accommodate their needs or, if this proves unsatisfactory, to leave the tour without legal recourse for a refund of their tour and travel expenditures. Such provisions also apply to guests who deliberately misrepresent(ed) their technical abilities, athletic capabilities or health status, if this severely inconveniences tour logistics or compromises the experience of other tour group members in an unacceptable manner.

7. Guests will never be forced or talked into riding off-road trails of a difficulty with which they feel uncomfortable or which they consider too hazardous to their health. Our guides will brief the group each morning as to the length, nature and difficulties of the day’s two ride alternatives (challenging vs. easy routes), which provides each guest with an opportunity to choose freely from the options according to their ability and preference or to walk sections of the trail that they feel inept to ride safely.

8. Guests will be advised that jumping over or off obstacles is prohibited in the context of our tour program.

9. Maximum speeds on paved road descents have to be limited to 50 km/h, even where conditions may permit higher velocities. This speed limit is reduced to 40 km/h on any unpaved road or trail surface. Surface or weather conditions may require our guides to enforce significantly lower speed limits at their discretion.

10. Our guides always carry cell phone, basic repair and first aid equipment in their packs. They may approach some of our stronger guests with the request to carry a cable bike lock, communication device or a first aid kit for the group. However, we do not place any such obligation on our guests without their expressed consent.

11. Our guests are informed in our pre-departure tour preparation handbook that the nature of our mountain bike tours limits the type and volume of emergency equipment our guides can carry. While evacuation and rescue services are generally highly efficient in the Alps, our guests recognize that alpine weather or other environmental variables may limit access to such services. On occasion, challenging day tours may be lead into wilderness settings with associated risk profiles.

12. While most of our tours offer a daily choice between a challenging and an easy series of trails, late snow, inclement weather, (temporary) trail closures, or other unforeseen circumstances may preclude this option. Under these conditions, tour participants who may have wanted to opt for a challenging day, would be asked to ride easy trails to the day’s destination without having any legal recourse for a refund. Our guides reserve the right to use their judgment to change the routing, as described in any pre-departure tour information, to respond to any of the aforementioned circumstances. This may, as a last resort, result in travel on some lengthy section of road with motorized vehicle traffic. If all easy trail options are closed or deemed unsafe for travel due to unforeseen circumstances TRANSALP RIDERS will provide motorized transportation to the day’s destination.

13. Our pre-departure tour information and the guest orientation during the first day of each tour provide important information about local travel conditions, including country-specific travel advisories, the occurrence of harmful plants, animals or diseases, dietary changes and possible side effects they may encounter, the availability of potable water, food and sanitary facilities during the tour, local regulations and laws, information deemed necessary in the context of indigenous cultures and local customs. Guests are strongly advised to pay attention and abide by the advice given.

14. Our pre-departure tour information also provides information on any requisite paperwork for all international travel, such as passport, visa, vaccination and insurance (medical and evacuation) requirements. It is each guest’s responsibility to ensure possession of requisite travel documentation.

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Acknowledgment of Available Safety Instruction, Assumption of Risks, and Indemnity Agreement

Signed in _____________________(city, town), this _______ day of _________, 20___

This agreement must be initialed, signed and dated in the presence of a witness prior to participating with us.        rev. 12/05

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