Activity Booking Information, Notes and Conditions
Outdoor Activity Courses, Instruction & Guiding

We suggest that you take a little time to read these Activity Booking Notes / Information / Conditions prior to booking with us. These notes will form part of your booking contract with us and are to ensure that that you – and others - fully enjoy your stay with us – and come back again. This is for the convenience, safety and enjoyment of all our clients – which is our prime concern.

Click here to download and print a copy of our Booking Notes

ARRIVAL / DEPARTURE TIMES: On the day of arrival we normally meet from 09.00 am onwards. We normally finish the day at about 17.00 pm back at the Centre. For some courses – especially in winter for week end courses – we prefer to have a briefing session on the evening before the course starts – please try to arrange your arrival for these courses by about 19.00pm.

JOINING US: We do not live on the property. Normally we are on site from about 09.00am Therefore we ask clients to telephone us a few days before the holiday start date to advise us of your approximate time of arrival.  If we are not around for some reason, please phone us (on 01397 772467 / 752 – late evening contact) for key collection and entry. (We can be with you within 3 minutes).

BOOKINGS: To make a booking please return your completed Booking Form, or online booking with your 25% deposit  or full balance by cheque.  Your booking will not be confirmed until we receive at least your 25% deposit.

CONFIRMATIONS: Once you have returned your booking form to us and paid the non-refundable deposit you will have entered in to a binding legal agreement. On receipt of your deposit you will be sent a Booking Confirmation / Invoice, confirming the dates, prices, number of people hooking and the units you have reserved.

CANCELLATIONS: Unless you inform us in writing of any problems with your hooking more than 6 weeks before your holiday start date; the booking will be liable for the full balance. If you cancel your booking in writing more than 6 weeks before your holiday start date the 25% deposit will be forfeit on all units booked. If you cancel the booking less than 6 weeks before your holiday date you will be liable for the full outstanding balance. A cancellation fee of £30 per person booked / cancelled will be charged on all cancellations. Those cancellations made at any time less than 6 weeks prior to the holiday date are still due in full by the person making the booking.
Snowgoose Mountain Centre can take no responsibility or accept cancellations if you or part of your group decides:-  a) they don't want to come  b) they can't afford to come!  c) They don't like the look of the weather, no snow, too much snow, too wet, not enough water in the rivers, ice conditions not quite right!  d) their boss will not give them time off work;  e) or they decide to go paddling/climbing in Nepal instead!    
 + Please remember, if you make a hooking on behalf of other people, you are legally responsible for the payment of the balance. The date when this balance is due will be on your Booking Confirmation / Invoice.      

THE SECURITY DEPOSIT is payable on all equipment hired (cash or cheque) and is returned to you on departure with the return of all gear / equipment.  The security deposit will be retained in the event that the gear is not returned in the same condition as you received it or for any excessive cleaning or damage.   If there is any a problem with your equipment issued / hired from us then please let us knows.  

INSURANCE: For all of the above reasons we strongly recommend that, especially if you are making a booking on behalf of others, that you take out your own cancellation Insurance. You may have to pay for a course or holiday, which you cannot take.
Snowgoose Mountain Centre is fully insured for our outdoor activities and property through Perkins Slade for £2,000,000. You may also like to consider taking out your own personal accident insurance if you feel the need. Many folks are already covered under their own insurance – that is why we no longer offer this facility

WET GEAR / DRYING ROOMS: All clients are requested to use our efficient drying room facilities to dry wet gear – there are also plenty of outside drying lines / fences to let really wet gear drip dry. Please no not dry your gear in our accommodation.

STORAGE OF MOUNTAIN BIKES / CANOES / SKIS /  SNOWBOARDS:  If you do bring your own gear, please do use our lockable bike store – can be used for canoes also – to store this type of equipment – DO NOT expect to be able to take mountain bikes/ canoes into the accommodation – this request is made without exception.  We have a power wash for cleaning muddy gear off outside our activity store – do not do this just outside the accommodation! If you have necessary repairs to make to gear then please ask for our help if you need it.

GROUP OR MULTIPLE BOOKINGS: This applies where one person is responsible for a larger group booking in one or more units of accommodation at one time. In the light of past experience we know how hard it is to get people together. We try very hard to avoid hassle or pressure from our end, especially when it is probably you as group leader who is being let down! However you are personally responsible for all payments once a confirmed booking has been made. Please make everyone in your group / party individually aware of this.
If one or more persons of a multiple booking cancels, the deposit payment/s for that /or those persons cancelling will not be deducted from the total balance for the other persons booking.

AVAILABILITY: Please e-mail or telephone us before sending off a booking form and deposit, to make sure we have vacancies for your course / holiday / session dates or accommodation if you are staying with us. We are happy to keep a provisional telephone booking for 7 days only pending the arrival of your deposit. If this is a problem please contact us.

PAYING YOUR BALANCE: The balance is payable 6 weeks before your holiday arrival date. You will be sent a reminder if your balance has not been paid 56 days prior to your visit. Where the holiday starts less than 6 weeks before, the total course fee is payable on booking. If yours is a group booking, we do understand the problems of collecting money from a widely dispersed group of people. We are happy to discuss variations on payment dates subject to agreed guidelines.                

PRICES: - No accommodation or food is included in our course / instruction / session / expedition prices. You are expected to provide your own personal outdoor clothing / gear as standard – please see below and our Gear Lists for guidance. Prices quoted are inclusive of all technical gear (helmets, ropes, harness, canoes, kayak etc).
This is to allow our clients full flexibility with their budget. You do not have to pay for the items of equipment or accommodation you do not require.

RATIOS: Each technical level of difficulty of course will normally have an instructor to client ratio. Please ask us about this or see the relevant course details.

EQUIPMENT: - Please remember you will get cold and wet doing outdoor activities in Scotland ~ at any time of the year! We intended to minimise the risks encountered by ensuring that all our clients are properly clad and equipped for the activities they are doing.  It also makes life much more comfortable and enjoyable when you are warm and at least partially dry.
Our Gear lists are intended as a guideline only ~ if you have any questions or concerns about gear / equipment please ask before you spend hundreds of pounds on brand new gear just to visit us!  Beg, borrow or ……….. until you see if you like the activity and intend to continue with it.  Having said that we reserve the right to refuse instruction to any individual or group whom we feel to be seriously under equipped personally.  We do not take folks onto the hills in jeans, shell suits and trainers. If you do have your own gear then please feel free to bring this along – it is always good to swap notes / experience / advice with others. However, your own personal and all technical gear will be checked by your instructor for suitability and fit, before you go on to the hill or water.

MEDICAL CONDITIONS
You will be asked to fill in a booking form on which you will be asked to give details of any medical condition which you have including any treatment you are receiving e.g. heart conditions, epilepsy, asthma, and diabetes, any medication you or any member of your group is taking. This is purely for your own safety and that of others.

RISK
On your booking form you will be advised that all mountaineering, hill walking, rock climbing, kayaking, canoeing & dinghy sailing are potentially risk activities. The level of risk can be minimised and controlled by being accompanied by an appropriately qualified leader or instructor. There will always be an element of risk involved in any adventurous outdoor activities. You should not do these types of activity or lead others unless you accept the possibility of injury. In our experience most accidents are caused – accidents do not just happen! – actually away from the adventure of activities when “silly games” are being played. Please do not expect to play games on our courses – but do expect to have a good time & plenty of fun.

PREVIOUS PERSONAL EXPERIENCE
You and your group will be asked to complete the booking form with details of your previous experience in your preferred activity. This is to help us help you get the most out of your course, as well as ensuring that you will be participating in an activity at an appropriate and safe level. Please complete one for each person. Please give brief details of all your previous experience including previous courses attended which are relevant to your booking with us.

USE OF FACILITIES:
Please note:-
● Facilities within the apartments / bunkhouse / hostel / drying rooms are only available to folks actually staying and booked with us.
● Other members of your group who may be staying in campsites etc, adjacent B&Bs or camper vans do not have access to any of our facilities at any time.
● There are no facilities for parking overnight or otherwise for camper vans in any circumstances, for folks not staying with us.  
● Our facilities are not available to outdoor instructors or guides who are not part of your paying group / not actually staying with us. This most specifically applies to using the accommodation for briefings, fitting of any gear, drying of gear provided by instructors / guides – other than gear provided directly by us or  instructors / guides employed directly by us. We reserve the right to with hold security deposits if this request is not respected and to charge accordingly..

(Please note that if you are doing a course with us we would always take you along to our meeting / lecture room. We expect any “outside” instructors or guides to respect this and use our facilities accordingly -as a matter of courtesy. Please do let us know / make us aware if you are going to be running a course of any sort or intend to have someone else – other than ourselves – run a course for you from Snowgoose Mountain Centre on your behalf ).

We have to “tighten up” on issues of this sort very reluctantly – we really do not want to go down this route or be unfriendly in any way – there is no problem if we are made aware. Because of increasing insurance and security considerations we need to know who is using our facility – which is not unreasonable. There have also been some (very infrequent) instances of abuse of our hospitality and lack of respect for our facilities).

AGE RESTRICTIONS:
Snowgoose Mountain Centre is an AALA (Adventure Activities Licensing Centre) licensed provider of specified adventure activities to young people under the age of 18 years under the Activity Centres (Young Persons’ Safety) Act 1995 and the Adventure Activities Licensing Regulations 2004.
We have a 2 year license, Registration Number L5588 / RO565 for Hill walking & mountaineering, Aseiling, Rock climbing Sailing, Open Canoeing, and Kayaking.

We do accept bookings from groups / individuals aged less than 18yrs who are not accompanied by a responsible adult.
These bookings are at our discretion as are single sex bookings for Hen and Stag weekends. We are not happy to accept bookings from groups who wish to make a lot of noise, abuse any substances or drink excessively!!
Please keep a copy of these notes for your own reference.

1st September 2006