Terms and Conditions
1. Ski Course
Ski Course: Ski course: Refers to all INSPIRED TO SKI courses described on the INSPIRED TO SKI website.
Agreeing To The Booking Conditions
By booking a ski course either by telephone, post or email you will be agreeing to these booking conditions. If you are booking on behalf of others you will also be taking on responsibility that the other members of your group have read and agree to these booking conditions. Please read them carefully and if there is anything you are unsure about please contact us immediately. All the booking conditions along with information on our website, brochures and any letters or emails that you have received form the basis for your contract with Alpzone Ltd our Agent and Inspired To Ski Ltd.
Liability
Inspired To Ski uses the services of instructors and mountain guides to provide the service as advertised on the Inspired To Ski website. They are qualified through their governing body in their country of residence or the country in which they provide their service. Their membership through their professional organisation includes insurance to provide the services they have been qualified to deliver. They are not employees of Inspired To Ski. Therefore when under their care your contract is directly with them. Should you be involved in any dispute involving an instructor or mountain guide where the dispute involves insurance then this will be direct with the organisation that provides their insurance not Inspired To Ski. In these booking conditions all mention of instructors and mountain guides are those that are working on behalf of Inspired To Ski and are not Inspired To Ski employees.
Accepting Risks
By booking on an Inspired To Ski Course you will be taking advantage of a huge mount of experience and expertise. The instructors who work on behalf of Inspired To Ski are very skilled at developing performance as described on the Inspired To Ski website. Both the instructors and mountain guides are well trained in the safety aspects of skiing in the mountains. They can advise, help and lead you. However skiing involves an element of risk, which you must accept as inherent to the sport. You must take responsibility over your own actions and decisions when skiing on the mountain either by yourself or within an Inspired To Ski group. It is known that accidents do happen as part of skiing. By booking on an Inspired To Ski course you will be accepting the risk involved and accepting that an accident may happen. You will also be responsible for accepting whether to take part in any activity whether; an exercise, a particular technique, skiing a particular slope, skiing a particular speed, skiing particular snow textures. In race training you will also be accepting whether to ski a particular ‘course’ and what speed to ski at. Inspired To Ski and the instructors and mountain guides working on behalf of Inspired To Ski cannot be held responsible for accidents. If at any point you wish to not take part in an activity for any reason then you must let the instructor or mountain guide know immediately.
Responsibility And The FIS Code Of Conduct
All skiers must ski in accordance with the ‘FIS Skier’s Code Of Conduct’. This is shown towards the later part of these booking conditions. Each member of the group has the responsibility to ski in accordance with these rules. Inspired To Ski and the instructors and mountain guides working on behalf of Inspired To Ski are not responsible for how each skier chooses to ski. If you are involved in an accident involving another member of the group. Inspired To Ski and the instructor or mountain guide working on behalf of Inspired To Ski cannot be held responsible.
On Snow Course Cancellation Due To Extreme Weather
Occasionally due to extreme weather conditions all the ski lifts in the resort may be closed. If we are unable to run our on-snow training we will supplement this with other off-snow activities. The off-snow activities may not be to the equivalent time that the ski course is advertised. We cannot give refunds for any on-snow time missed due to lift closure. Check your insurance policy as it may cover you for lift closure.
Opting Out
If you think you may opt out of a session for any reason please aim to do so before the start of the session and if possible let the instructor or mountain guide working on behalf of Inspired To Ski or an INspired To Ski representative know before hand. If you choose to opt out during a session, the instructor or mountain guide will lead you to a safe place from where you can opt out. From this point you will be accepting all responsibility for yourself. Should you have an accident returning to your original destination this will be your responsibility. In certain situations when safety is an issue the instructor or mountain guide will inform you that opting out is not advised until the group reaches a safe place. If you choose to go against this advice you may seriously endanger yourself and others that may have to be called to your rescue should you get into trouble. Should you choose to opt out you will be taking full responsibility for yourself.
Safety Equipment
Off Piste - Transceiver, Shovel, Probe, Backpack. On courses that involve off piste skiing in certain areas and snow conditions safety equipment must be carried. This involves wearing a transceiver and carrying a probe and shovel in a backpack. If you are booking onto a ski course involving off piste skiing in these areas and you do not have this equipment we are able to offer a hire service to this equiepment of £20 for the duration of the course.
Helmet: We can recommend the wearing of a safety helmet on all Inspired To Ski courses. If you are a strong level 5 or level 6 and venturing into demanding terrain with hazards, failure to wear a helmet could affect the decision of the instructor or mountain guide to lead you into certain terrain. You may be required to move into a group that is venturing into less demanding terrain with less hazards.
Refunds
No refunds for missing course time can be given. In the event of Inspired To Ski being unable to deliver the course as promised in the booking conditions, website and literature (for example due to staff illness or injury) we will refund on a pro rata basis any time missed or transfer missed time to a future course.
Insurance
It is your responsibility to make sure you have adequate insurance cover for the ski course you have booked on.
2. Booking Details
Alpzone Ltd
We (Inspired to Ski) use ALPZONE LTD as our booking agent for all our bookings, except some of the 3 day Performance Courses/Women’s Weekends we book the 'course element' and the client books direct with the Chalet Operator.
Alpzone are fully insured and have Travel Trust Protection, therefore, all monies paid over to Alpzone are protected in accordance with EU directives and the UK Package Tours Regulations.
Office Times
Office times are Monday to Friday 9am to 5 pm. Out of office hours please email Sally Chapman or if urgent please call 07885 630340.
Staff
The office staff aim to do their utmost to deal with your booking and any enquiries you have to the best of their ability. However with such a specialist programme, questions are often of a more complex nature which may require the office staff to seek further information from our team of professionals. We ask for your patience. The staff will seek out all the information you require and get back to you as soon as they can. If you wish to email Sally direct please do.
Booking Contracts
If you decide to book on a course and send in either a deposit or full payment you will be entering in to a contract with both Inspired to Ski/Alpzone and the tour operator your package is booked with. The contract will exist from the moment Alpzone receive any monies and is between Inspired to Ski (the course element), the tour operator your package is booked with (for the package section) and yourself and all those you are paying monies on behalf of to reserve a course. The contract agrees to all the booking conditions described in Inspired To Ski brochure/website and the brochure/website of the tour operator your package is booked with. If you would like a brochure of the tour operator your package is booked with please contact Alpzone and they will be happy to forward you one.
Booking / Final payment
A deposit of £100 for the package and £50 for the the course, per person, is required if you book more than 8 weeks before departure, otherwise full payment is due. If booking just a course only we will ask for FULL PAYMENT for the course. We will despatch a confirmation invoice, please check all details carefully. Once confirmation is despatched your contract is made with the tour operator booked with and the deposit and insurance premium are non-refundable. Final payment is due 10 weeks prior to departure.
Other Tour Operator
We use other tour operators to arrange all the 'package' elements of our programme. Alpzone act as the booking agent for all these tour operators. Unless booking a 3 day package and then we only deal with the 'course element' of the booking and you, the client book direct with the chalet operator you wish to.
Payments Financial Security
Alpzone are fully insured, operate a Travel Trust Bond and all monies paid over to Alpzone are protected.
Prices
Prices and price changes are subject to the booking conditions of the Tour Operator that your holiday package is booked with. Course fees are guaranteed against changes.
Cancellations for Packages
Cancellation charges are shown in the booking conditions of the tour operator your holiday arrangements are made with. You will be subject to their cancellation charges for any packages booked. Please speak with Alpzone to view the Tour Operators cancellation charges.
Cancellation Charges for the course
Cancellation charges for the course are:
- Before 8 weeks - Administration Fee of £10-20.
- Within 8 weeks loss of deposit
- Within 4 - 8 weeks 80%
- Within 0 – 4 weeks 100%
3. Skiing Level
Half day courses: Each instructor runs two Courses per day. One in the morning and another in the afternoon. Unless otherwise stated (e.g. 3 day Performance Courses/Full day courses). We cannot guarantee whether your course will be in the morning or in the afternoon. If you are with partners or friends who are a different level, you may find that your course times are different. To help when this occurs we try to alternate course times from day to day, so that you are able to ski with your friends. To get the best from the course it is important that you place yourself in to the appropriate group for your level.
Minimum Level
If your skiing level is well below the rest of the group and we consider it unsafe or detrimental to your performance to continue with the group, we will use the course fee paid to purchase either private lessons or to slot you in to another appropriate course with other organisations in the resort. We will make sure that you receive the best training possible under the circumstances.
How we work the groups
At the welcome meeting our instructors will chat with you to confirm your level and slot you in to the appropriate group using the levels described in this brochure. During or after the first day we may then re-arrange the groups if necessary to ensure each person is in the most appropriate group for their level. It is paramount that if you feel that you are not in the correct group for whatever reason that you speak to your instructor and the trainer who is heading the course immediately to identify your concerns.
We sell to an average of 6/7 skiers but our maximum is usually 8.
Moving between levels
There is normally flexibility to move between groups during the week if you would like to ski faster and tackle more demanding slopes or vice versa. If however, changing groups means going above our maximum number per group we will not be able to arrange this. All our trainers are very skilled at developing performance within each group to cater for slight variations in levels of ability.
Instructors
If you would like to know which instructors will be working on each course we have identified this click here. This may change as numbers on courses vary. We cannot guarantee which instructor will be working with you. They have all been selected for their personality, modern and innovative approach to ski teaching and similar philosophies. On occasions we may need to use instructors that are not shown within this website/brochure, any instructor used will have similar qualifications, experience and philosophies.
Your progress
It is important that if for one reason or another you feel you are not progressing as quickly as you would like, let us know straight away and we can restructure the course accordingly without delay.
Weather
Occasionally due to extreme weather conditions it is possible that all ski lifts may close for safety reasons with no skiing available. Inspired To Ski and our instructors are not liable for these unforeseen circumstances. If we are unable to run our training on snow we will supplement this with other off snow activities.
Snow
We have selected resorts which have good track records with snow and are appropriate for the courses we run. However, occasionally the snow conditions may not be the best hoped for. In these circumstances we will run our courses to the best of our ability with the prevailing conditions. If in extreme situations there is a lack of snow in the resort we are running the course, we may decide to travel to other nearby resorts with superior conditions in order to get the maximum benefit from the course. The costs of traveling to other resorts are not included in the price and will need to be met by each client.
4. Accommodation
Accommodation
We have tried to be as accurate and honest as possible with all the descriptions of the accommodation in this brochure. For more detailed information we advise you to read the tour operators brochure your holiday package is booked with. If you are unsure whether the accommodation and food suits your needs please call our office to chat further.
Level of Accommodation
We try to source accommodation that is 'somewhere in the middle', comfortable, good value for money and suits the running of our courses. If 'somewhere in the middle' is not to your taste and you are looking for something a little cheaper or more luxurious feel free to source your own package and book on a course only. Alternatively contact our office or ALPZONE LTD and let them source something for you.
Noise and ear plugs
The accommodation we use has all been selected for their convenience and location. There could however be noise late at night or early in the morning from snow-ploughs, bars, noisy skiers etc. If you are a single share you may also be sharing a room with someone who snores which may well disturb your sleep. We recommend you take with you a few sets of ear plugs, these can make all the difference to a good nights sleep... and a good days skiing!
5. Travel
Airport Transfers
Flights not booked with Tour Operators may be arriving at different times depending on who you have booked with and where you are flying from. It is not financially possible to arrange a separate transfer for every flight from every airport. This may mean some waiting around at the airport for other flights to arrive. We ask for your patience and understanding in this matter.
Please note: On the Morzine weeks/weekends & we help arrange transfers. You must check with our office the transfer options and times prior to arranging or booking you flights.
Insurance
On booking a course it is essential that you have adequate insurance cover. On booking on any of our courses (except Novice & Nervous Week) you will need to make sure your insurance covers you for off-piste skiing which most insurance companies now offer as a standard practice. Some insurance only covers off-piste skiing whilst under the guidance of mountain guides and instructors. If you intend too ski off-piste, please check that your insurance had appropriate cover. ALPZONE can arrange appropriate insurance cover for all your needs. (Weekly, monthly or annually). Call 020 8133 8240
Inspired to Ski is the trading name for Inspired to Ski Limited Registered in England No 4829127.
If you have any enquiries please do not hesitate too email Sally direct on sally@inspiredtoski.com or Julie at ALPZONE julie@action-outdoors.co.uk