All contracts in respect of these holidays are made with Ski Club Winter Arrangements Limited of which Ski Club of Great Britain and Ski Freshtracks are trading names. All bookings are subject to these Booking Conditions and the general holiday information.

Ski Club members only

1. It is a condition of booking that you must be a member of the Ski Club of Great Britain to book these holidays. Membership numbers of each person are required to be stated on the booking confirmation. If not shown for each person, you will be invoiced for the cost of membership at the current rate of subscription.

How to book

2. Please follow carefully all the booking details and subsequent instructions. We shall not be liable for your failure to do so. The member who makes the booking is responsible for ensuring that these Booking Conditions are drawn to the attention of every person on whose behalf he/she has made a booking and binds everyone. When you make a booking you are confirming that you understand these Booking Conditions and have accepted them on behalf of yourself and all members of your party.

Making a payment

3. We accept cheques, credit and debit cards (except Amex & Solo). This means that you may telephone your requirements for immediate booking. You will be sent a booking confirmation which must be checked carefully. In the event of any discrepancy, please raise any queries with us immediately. A non-refundable deposit of £150 per person and all applicable insurance premiums (£750 non-refundable deposit per person for cat and heliskiing holidays, £250 for North America) will be payable at the time of booking. If you book within 10 weeks of the departure date (12 weeks for North American and 12 weeks for heliskiing holidays) the total cost of your holiday and that of your group must be submitted immediately. Receipt of the deposit by us does not imply confirmation of that booking. No booking shall be confirmed until we issue a written confirmation invoice along with the booking confirmation. We reserve the right to refuse a booking without giving any reason for such refusal and shall in that event return any deposit received to its sender. Please note there is a 2% surcharge payable for credit card transactions (Visa/Mastercard) which we will automatically add to your balance. If you wish to pay by cheque a £15 handling charge will be added to your total costs.

4. The balance of the total cost of the holiday as shown on our invoice must be paid at least 10 weeks before departure or 12 weeks for North American holidays or 12 weeks for heliskiing holidays. If the balance has not been paid by such a date we reserve the right to cancel the booking within seven days thereafter and to retain the deposit by way of our cancellation charge. Any dispute as to the amounts shown in the invoice must be taken up with us within 48 hours of receipt of the invoice. Thereafter the person who made the booking guarantees payment to us in accordance with these Booking Conditions of the total amount shown on the invoice. For cancellation procedures see Section 5 below.

Amendment or cancellation by you

5. (a) If you wish to alter or change any detail in the booking confirmation, or wish to make alternative arrangements to those advertised in the brochure, the request must be made in writing as soon as possible. We will do our best to make the change but cannot guarantee to do so. Where a change can be made, a minimum charge of £25 per person is payable to cover administrative and other costs we incur in making the alternative arrangements. These further costs could increase closer to the departure date that changes are made. You will also be required to pay any additional costs arising from any alterations. Any transfer of a scheduled flight will also be subject to any charges imposed by the airline. Please note that airlines may not allow transfers on scheduled flights and that a flight booking may have to be cancelled and rebooked, in which event the re-booking will always be subject to flight availability and to payment of any charges imposed by the airline which may, in some cases, be the full cost of the ticket.

(b) If you are prevented from travelling you may be able to transfer your booking to someone else provided you give us reasonable notice (minimum 10 weeks prior to departure). This person must be able to satisfy all the conditions for the holiday and a change cannot normally be made later than 10 weeks prior to departure. If the transfer can be made we will make an administration charge of £50 plus any reasonable additional costs caused by the transfer. You will remain responsible for ensuring that the holiday is paid for by the balance due date.

(c) If up to 10 weeks before departure date you cancel your holiday (12 weeks for North America or 12 weeks for heliskiing holidays) or if we cancel the booking because of failure by you to pay the balance by the prescribed time the deposits paid by you will be forfeited. Since we incur costs in cancelling your arrangements the following cancellation charges will be payable if the holiday is cancelled by you for whatever reason after the balance due date.

All cancellations must be received in writing, signed by the person who made the booking and acknowledged by us. Failure to pay the balance by the due date shall entitle the Ski Club to cancel the booking and retain the deposit by way of a cancellation charge. Failure to pay any other amount by the due date shall entitle the Ski Club to cancel the booking and to retain an amount by way of a cancellation charge as set out in Clause 5 (c). Cancellation charges due on heliskiing holidays are according to each helicopter skiing operator’s booking conditions. These are available from us upon request.

(d) Course Only Bookings. These bookings must be paid for, in full at the time of booking. All cancellations must be received in writing, signed by the person who made the booking and acknowledged by us. Since we incur costs in cancelling your arrangements, all cancellations are subject to a £100 non-refundable fee. The following cancellation charges will be payable if the package is cancelled by you for whatever reason.

Prices

6. (i) We reserve the right to alter the prices of any of the holidays shown in our brochure. You will be advised of the current price of the holiday that you wish to book before your contract is confirmed.

(ii) The price of your holiday arrangements can be varied due to changes in transportation costs such as fuel, scheduled airfares and any other airline cost changes which are part of the contract between airlines (and their agents) and the tour operator or organiser. Also government action such as changes in VAT or any other government imposed changes and currency changes in relation to an exchange rate variation. In the case of any small variation, an amount equivalent to 2% of the price of your holiday arrangements, which excludes insurance premiums and any amendment charges, will be absorbed or retained. For larger variations this 2% will still be absorbed for increases but not retained from refunds. In either case there will be an administration charge of £1.00 per person together with an amount to cover agents’ commission. If this means that you have to pay an increase of more than 10% of the price of your holiday arrangements, you may cancel your holiday arrangements and receive a full refund of all monies paid, except for any amendment charges. We will consider an appropriate refund of insurance premiums paid if you can show that you are unable to transfer or reuse your policy. Should you decide to cancel for this reason, you must exercise your right to do so within 14 days from the issue date printed on your final invoice. Alternatively, you can accept an offer of alternative holiday arrangements from us if we are able to offer a suitable alternative and transfer payment made in respect of the original holiday to the alternative holiday. If the cost of the alternative holiday is less than the original, the difference in price will be refunded. We will also pay compensation as set out in section 8 below. Please note that holiday arrangements are not always purchased in local currency and some apparent changes have no impact on the price of your travel due to contractual and other protection in place.

(iii) The prices of holidays in this brochure are calculated on the basis of costs known at June 2009.

Single supplements

7. The majority of our holidays are priced and sold on a shared room basis and we will do our best to help individuals find a room sharer but this is not always possible. If, when rooming lists are finalised, there is an imbalance in numbers so that a sole occupancy supplement is incurred, this cost will be passed onto you. Please note that where individuals have been allocated or have specifically asked to share a room with another/other member(s), and one or more of the individuals in the allocated room cancels their holiday, we reserve the right to resell the cancelled place should we have the demand and you may therefore end up sharing a room with another individual.

Changes and cancellation by us

8. (i) We are occasionally forced to make changes to holidays and reserve the right to do so at anytime. If a significant change is made to your holiday after it has been confirmed, you will be informed as soon as possible. You may either accept the changed holiday or cancel and receive a full and prompt refund of all monies that you have paid. Except where the significant change arises because of force majeure, your late or non-payment or insufficient numbers, we will in addition offer you compensation (whether you accept the change or cancel) as follows:

A significant change includes a change of UK airport to one that is less convenient (excluding changes between Heathrow and Gatwick); a change of accommodation to a lower grade; a change of resort; a change of planned departure time by more than 12 hours (not flight delay).

Force majeure: means unusual or unforeseeable circumstances beyond our control or the control of our suppliers, the consequences of which neither us nor our suppliers could avoid even with all due care, including, but not limited to, epidemic or outbreaks of illness, war, threat of war, riot, civil strife, industrial dispute, terrorist activity or threat of it, natural or nuclear disaster, fire, flood, drought, technical problems to transport, machinery or equipment, power failure, changes imposed by rescheduling or cancellation of flights by an airline, closure or congestion of airports or ports, adverse weather conditions.

(ii) We reserve the right to cancel any holiday at any time before the date of departure. For example, some holidays operate subject to a minimum number of participants and we may therefore have to cancel where there are insufficient numbers. We will not cancel for insufficient numbers less than 28 days before departure.

Compensation for cancellation by us will not be payable in the event of force majeure or your late or non-payment. We are not responsible for any costs incurred outside the services included in the holiday invoice. Compensation for cancellation is as follows:

Holiday insurance

9. Our insurance policy is optional but it is a condition of booking that all clients have insurance which provides at least the same level of cover as that of the Ski Club Travel Insurance policy as detailed on www.skiclub.co.uk. If you suffer from a disability or medical condition, you should disclose this to insurers. Your policy of insurance should provide cover for personal injury, death, medical and repatriation costs in the countries which you intend to visit, together with cover for loss of baggage and valuables, personal liability, delay, cancellation, curtailment, missed departure and legal expenses. Insurance premiums must be paid at the same time as booking the holiday in order for cancellation cover to be effective. Please read the full policy wording carefully. Cancellation cover commences on receipt of your premium; other sections of the cover apply during your holiday including the outward and return journeys. Please keep insurance details with you whilst on holiday.

Our liability

10. We do not own or manage the aircraft, ships, accommodation, restaurants and other facilities used in conjunction with the holidays advertised in this brochure. While we have exercised care in selecting providers of travel, accommodation, restaurants and other facilities, we will not have had the opportunity to inspect and do not by this brochure represent that we have inspected such aircraft, ships, accommodation, restaurants or other facilities. However, if any part of the holiday arrangement is not provided as advertised we will pay you reasonable compensation as we accept responsibility for our employees, agents, suppliers and sub-contractors while acting within the course of their employment. This liability is restricted to matters not involving injury, illness or death and is limited to three times the cost of the holiday (excluding insurance premium and amendment charges) of the affected person. If you or any member of your party is killed, injured or becomes ill as a result of transport by aircraft, ship, train or coach, our liability to pay compensation and/or the amount of compensation we will pay is limited in line with the Montreal and Warsaw Conventions (applies to transport by air), the Athens Convention (applies to transport by ship), the Berne Convention (applies to transport by rail) and the Geneva Convention (applies to transport by road). The terms of these conventions are incorporated into and form part of your contract with us. You can get copies of the relevant conventions if you ask us for them. You should also note that these conventions may limit or remove the carrier’s liability to you and the amount which the carrier has to pay to you. You should also know that the carrier will rely on its “conditions of carriage” which may limit or remove the carrier’s liability to you and limit compensation under international conventions. Where the services are provided by air or sea carriers our liability is limited as if we were the carriers within the appropriate international conventions copies of which we will provide at your request.

11. If you or any member of your party suffers death, illness or injury as a result of any failure to perform or improper performance of any part of our contract with you, we will accept responsibility unless failure to perform or improper performance was attributable to:

(i) your own acts and/or omissions; or

(ii) those of a third party not connected with the provision of your holiday and which was unforeseeable or unavoidable; or

(iii) an event which neither we nor the supplier of the service in question could have foreseen or prevented even with all due care. Should any payment be made to you or any member of your party by us in any of the circumstances referred to under sections 9 and 10, we reserve the right to claim in your place against the person or organisation responsible for causing the illness, injury or death. This means that you will be asked to assign that part of your rights to us and we will be subrogated to those rights. You must also assist us and our insurers in pursuing any such claim. All claims must be notified immediately to us and confirmed in writing within 50 days. Any amounts recovered in excess of the payments made by us to you will be passed on to you after deduction of our costs.

Problems not connected to our holiday package

12. Should any member of your party suffer illness, injury or death through misadventure arising out of an activity which does not form part of the holiday package we have arranged for you, we cannot accept liability. We will, however, offer general assistance where appropriate. This is another area where it is important to have adequate holiday insurance cover.

Transportation

13. As set out in clause 10 above, transportation on aircraft, coaches, trains or ships is subject to the conditions of carriage of the carrier, some of which may limit or exclude liability. These conditions are often the subject of international agreement between countries and copies of the conditions which apply to your holiday journey will normally be found on the carrier’s tickets. They are available prior to that time from our office.

No liability is accepted for delays to flights to or from the United Kingdom or for any cancellation of flights. We are also not liable to pay compensation where air, rail, road and other departure times are supplied by carriers since they are subject to air traffic control, passenger check in times, weather conditions and the need for regular maintenance or other safety considerations. You should consider making a claim under your travel insurance policy.

Luggage, skis and equipment

14. All luggage, skis, snowboards, boots, equipment and other personal effects shall be at all times and in all circumstances the owner’s own responsibility and taken on holiday at the owner’s risk. We cannot accept responsibility for any loss or damage or delay to your luggage and effects unless directly caused by the negligence of one of our employees.

Complaints procedure

15. (i) We hope that you will not experience any problems with your holiday. If you do, however, you must take it up with your senior Club leader/ representative on the spot so that we can attempt to solve it at once. If the problem cannot be resolved in a short time your leader will complete a complaint form there and then, which you will be asked to sign to ensure that it sets out your full complaint properly and which we undertake to investigate as soon as possible and report back to you. If you are unhappy with the outcome of our investigation you must put this in writing to us within 28 days of the end of your holiday.

(ii) Your failure to comply with this complaints procedure may deprive us of the opportunity to investigate and rectify your complaint whilst on holiday and may affect your rights under this contract.

Legal disputes

16. In event of any dispute arising between us the dispute will, where you are resident in England, be governed by English law and is subject to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the English and Welsh courts. If you live in Scotland or Northern Ireland, you may bring proceedings in your local Court.

For your protection

17. We are licensed and fully bonded by the Civil Aviation Authority under ATOL No. 2911. In the unlikely event of our insolvency, the CAA would ensure that you are not stranded abroad and will arrange to refund any money you have paid to us for an advance booking. For further information, visit the ATOL website at www.atol.org.uk. All non-flight inclusive travel arrangements are also financially protected under the Association of Bonded Travel Organisers Trust Ltd, Membership No. 5064.

Data protection

18. Information about you and members of your party, including your names, contact details and any special needs, disabilities or dietary requirements is collected by us when you request information or make a booking with us. You are responsible for ensuring that other members of your party are aware of our booking conditions and this privacy policy and that they consent to your acting on their behalf in your dealings with us. We may disclose this information to our service providers (who may be located outside the UK/EEA) for the purpose of providing you with your travel and holiday arrangements. Only information necessary for this purpose will be disclosed to them. In the case of air travel, it may be mandatory for us to disclose information for security and anti-terrorism purposes and any other purpose imposed on us by governments or airlines.

We may use your information for the purposes set out in our data protection registration for the Office of the Information Commissioners. We may disclose the same to companies who act as data processors on our behalf. Some information, for example relating to your religion or health, may be “sensitive personal data” within the meaning of the Data Protection Act 1998. We need this information to cater for your needs, but it is collected on condition that we have your positive consent. If you do not agree to our use of your information, we cannot accept your booking. By making a booking with us, you agree to allow your insurers, their agents and medical staff to disclose relevant information to us in circumstances where we may need to act in the interests of everyone in the group with whom you are travelling. For example, if you contract an infectious illness whilst on holiday, we may need to make special arrangements for you and ensure that you do not return with the group immediately.

From time to time we may contact you by post with information about special offers or holidays. If you do not wish to receive such information, please notify us. You have the right to ask in writing for a data subject access request form to obtain a copy of the information which we hold about you. You will be charged a fee for this. Any request should be addressed to the Company Secretary, The Ski Club of Great Britain.

Accuracy of brochure

19. This brochure was planned and produced in July 2009. Care has been taken in the planning and production of this brochure so that you may obtain an accurate picture of the holiday of your choice and all information published in this brochure has been compiled from up-to-date details. Nevertheless, there may be times when an advertised facility is either modified or not available due to, for example, adverse weather conditions or poor volume of support or other factors beyond our control. We therefore reserve the right to alter or vary the content of the brochure at any time. Wherever possible we will advise you of significant changes prior to departure.

Your responsibility

20. By booking a holiday with us you undertake to deport yourself in a safe and orderly fashion and not to disrupt the enjoyment of others on holiday with you nor to prejudice the reputation of the Ski Club of Great Britain with the owners of the accommodation or the suppliers involved in the agreement. Most people go on holiday for rest and relaxation, so if in our reasonable opinion or that of any airline pilot, hotel manager, tour leader, or other person in authority, your behaviour is causing danger, damage to property or persistently affecting the enjoyment of others, we reserve the right to terminate your holiday. Should this happen, no refund or compensation would be paid. Also, we will be entitled to recover from the offending party and/or the person who signed the booking form compensation for any damage caused. If the Captain of your flight reasonably believes that you could be a danger or disruptive, he can refuse to let you on the flight. If this means that you are not allowed to board the flight, we will treat your booking as cancelled from that moment, and you will have to pay full cancellation charges. We will not be liable to pay you any compensation. We cannot accept liability for the behaviour of others in your accommodation or on your flight, nor if any facilities are removed as a result of their actions.

Refunds

21. We regret that no refund will be made by us on unused coach travel, unused air tickets or on unused sections of other types of ticket, whether travel or otherwise, unless a refund can be obtained by us from the carrier or provider.

If you are under 18 years

22. Every member of a holiday under 18 years shall be required to abide by the special Ski Club of Great Britain Rules for such holidays, a copy of which will be supplied with the confirmation invoice. It shall be the responsibility of the person whose name appears on the booking to bring such rules to the attention of each person under 18 on behalf of whom he/she has made a booking. If a member of a holiday under 18 years is sent back to the United Kingdom, the parents (or guardian, if applicable) of such a member will be responsible for all costs and expenses arising therefrom including, but not limited to, the provision of an escort by Ski Freshtracks as well as his/her travel costs and expenses.

Age

23. The majority of holidays in this brochure are designed for adults aged between 18 and 62 years. There is an extensive programme of Peak Experience holidays which are open to anyone aged 50 years and over. Members aged over 62 years will be required to join the trips in this category. Additionally some specific holidays e.g. Family, Safaris and Tours, plus Christmas and New Year (except Off Piste Zone) groups are open to all ages.

Our holiday leaders

24. The day-to-day organisation of the holiday in the resort is undertaken by the volunteer Ski Club holiday leaders and they have been asked to make sure the arrangements made are the best, in their opinion, for the group as a whole. This may mean that one skiing group will be encouraged to free ski while others are being led. Programmes compiled by Ski Club holiday leaders are subject to alteration and depend on weather and snow conditions which can change rapidly. Ski Club leaders are not professional mountain guides, nor ski instructors. They are Club members who have attended a training course with us and who volunteer their services. If you wish to ski with a Ski Club leader you do so in full knowledge that the leader will not conduct a professional assessment of your skiing ability. You are responsible for your own safety, and you must be aware of the safety of other group members. Skiing is an inherently risky sport and you must be physically fit and have sufficient skill and experience to enable you to participate without risk to yourself or the safety of others. If you are unable to effect linked snowplough turns competently or if your level of fitness and/or ability does not appear to conform to that of the rest of the group, you will be asked to join the local ski school at your own expense or will be asked to make your own skiing arrangements. No refunds or compensation will be paid in these circumstances. At the end of each holiday every member will be issued with a ski grading which will be recorded on the Ski Club GB membership database.

Safety

25. Skiing, snowboarding and other winter sports can be dangerous. When skiing off piste or ski touring there may be an element of increased risk. You must be competent and fit enough to undertake these sports and you must take all reasonable precautions for your own safety and the safety of any children for whom you are responsible. You must ensure that your equipment is in good working order and that you are suitably clothed for a day’s skiing or snowboarding. Children should wear proper helmets at all times when they are participating in winter sports. When venturing off piste it is advisable to wear an avalanche transceiver. These are provided for and should be worn by every person on every holiday of intermediate standard and above. Anyone joining a holiday in the Off Piste and Touring sections will be required to take their own additional equipment. Unless you are accompanied by a professional mountain guide or ski instructor, you must use your own judgement when deciding which route to follow. When you are skiing under the guidance of a professional mountain guide or ski instructor organised through the Ski Club you should follow their reasonable instructions. In the event that you feel that any route is beyond your capability to ski safely, you must inform the Ski Club leader, mountain guide or ski instructor immediately. You must accept that Ski Club leaders, mountain guides and ski instructors have the right to prevent you from participating in any programme organised by the Ski Club if, in their reasonable opinion, you cannot participate safely because your standard of skiing or fitness is inadequate, or your conduct may present a danger to others. Neither the Ski Club of Great Britain nor Ski Club Winter Arrangements Limited has any liability to you in these circumstances. Safety standards in many foreign countries may be lower than those taken for granted at home. While hotels and facilities should meet local safety regulations these rarely match UK standards which are amongst the highest in the world. We do not inspect the safety of ski lifts, ski runs and so on. These are operated locally and do not form part of your package with us.

Snow and weather conditions

26. We cannot accept responsibility for the snow or weather conditions experienced during your holiday with the Ski Club of Great Britain. Where we have used the word ‘powder’ in the description of your holiday, we will endeavour to find the best available snow, but if conditions are such that no powder is available (for weather or safety reasons) we accept no responsibility. Nor do we offer a snow guarantee, but we have specially chosen resorts with good snow records.

Dates of validity of brochure

27. This brochure is valid between 1 July 2009 and 30 June 2010.

Cash declaration

28. Please note that, as part of the fight against terrorism, international crime and money laundering, EU Regulation (EC) No 1889/2005 requires all passengers entering or leaving the European Union through its external control points with €10,000 or more in cash (or its equivalent in other currencies or easily convertible assets – e.g. bonds, shares, traveller’s cheques etc.) to declare the sum to the customs authorities of the Member State which he/she is entering or leaving. If you are likely to need to make a declaration under this regulation please contact the HM Revenue & Customs National Advice Service on 0845 010 9000 or visit www.hmrc.gov.uk for further information on how to comply.