STANDARD BOOKING & CANCELLATION POLICY

By booking and paying for your trip, you are accepting the standard booking and cancellation terms and policies as set out below. Please ensure you have read these policies in detail before you book.

THE BOOKING PROCESS

Payment Terms

  1. To confirm your reservation, a 25% non‐refundable deposit is required on booking. The balance due date will be shown on your confirmation & payment form. Group organizers or individual guests have two weeks from the last day of their ski trip to confirm their booking for the following year.
  2. Final Payments of the remaining 75% of the trip cost are due as follows:
      • Trips starting December 1st to January 31st: September 30th
      • Trips starting February 1st to February 28th /29th: October 31st  
      • Trips starting March 1st to April 4th: November 30th
        • For bookings made after the above deadlines, full payment is due upon reservation.
  3. For full group bookings, we will accept either a group deposit & final payment, or an individual deposit and final payment from each group member.
  4. All credit card payments must include a signed authorization form for both the initial and final deposit with the dates that payments are due. All credit card information is collected and held by SERTIFI for a pre-authorization period of 90 days and then deleted.  If you are paying by cheque, please send a post‐dated cheque for the final payment to ensure it is received on time.
  5. Chatter Creek Accepts Visa, Mastercard, and cheques. We do not accept Amex.
  6. All our rates are quoted in Canadian Dollars and include all applicable levies and taxes.

Group Discounts

Group Discounts are offered to cat skiing groups that book eight or more spots and are based on double occupancy. To qualify for the rebate, all the following criteria must be met:

  1. All group members must have contacted the office with their information by the time the final payment is processed.
  2. The rooming list must be provided with or prior to the final payment being processed.

Group Discounts are reviewed and adjusted annually. Chatter Creek reserves the right to adjust Group Discounts prior to the release of the following year’s prices.

CANCELLATION POLICY 

All payments received are not cash refundable. When applicable, credits toward a future trip will be issued. In the event that a guest booking is rolled forward to the following year the guest is responsible for payment of any year-over-year price increases in the cost of the product, and these amounts must be paid in full at the final payment due date.

If a tour is cancelled due to weather, conditions, or any other reason, we will issue a credit forward towards your tour in the following year equal to 100% of the value of payments received. If a tour is partially cancelled for any reason, we will issue a prorated credit equal to the cancelled days forward toward the following year’s tour. For partially cancelled tours, the heli‐transport costs are not refundable. 

Exemption to Standard Terms

For early season tours commencing on or before December 12th, a full cash refund will be issued if the tour is cancelled due to early season conditions. For all other tours commencing from December 13th to the end of the operating season, the standard booking and cancellation policy applies.

Resale of Trip Seats

In the event that, following the confirmation of your booking, you are unable to attend your tour for any reason, Chatter Creek will work with you to resell your trip seat in the following manner:

  1. A $250 administration fee applies to all resale of seats where the payment transaction is processed by Chatter Creek.
  2. If Chatter Creek is requested by the guest to find a replacement for their trip seat, payment will be refunded to the guest once the seat has been filled and payment has been received. Refunds will be issued by cheque and may take 4 to 6 weeks to process, if processed during the operating season.
  3. Chatter Creek will discuss a resale price of your seat with you prior to advertising it. The recommended resale price may be less than face value, depending on how close the resale is to the trip start date.
  4. You may resell your seat privately to another skier, aged 19 years of age or older, but only with our knowledge and consent. In order for Chatter Creek to not charge a resale administrative fee, you must collect monies directly from the replacement guest.
  5. In the unlikely event that the seat cannot be filled either by Chatter Creek or the cancelling guest, then all payments received by Chatter Creek are non‐refundable.

COMMUNICABLE DISEASE OUTBREAK POLICIES

In the event that a communicable disease outbreak requires provincial health authority intervention and restrictions in subsequent seasons, Chatter Creek will continue to provide guests with a trip deferral option preceding the final payment due date if this step is deemed necessary by Chatter Creek.  Following the final payment due date, our Standard Booking Terms & Conditions apply to the cancellation and resale of trip seats provided we are able to continue to operate and provide the guest with their trip.  

In the event that Chatter Creek cannot provide a guest’s trip due to a full or partial closure, we will issue a credit forward towards the guest’s trip in the following year equal to 100% of the value of payments received. When a credit is rolled forward, the guest is responsible for payment of any year-over-year price increases in the cost of the product, and these amounts must be paid in full at the final payment due date.

Provincial Health Mandates and Vaccinations

In the event that provincially mandated restrictions are put into place such as vaccination requirements or mask mandates, guests will be required to meet all provincially mandated requirements in order to attend their trip. If a guest cannot meet these requirements, we will work with our guests to resell their trip seats, and the $250 seat resale administrative fees will be waived. If the trip seat is not able to be resold, then all payments received by Chatter Creek are non‐refundable.

Travel Restrictions and Border Closures

In the event that travel restrictions or border closures are put in place by the Government of Canada or a Foreign Nations Government, we will work with our guests to resell their trip seats and the $250 seat resale administrative fees will be waived. If the trip seat is not able to be resold, then all payments received by Chatter Creek are non‐refundable.

DOWN DAYS DUE TO SNOWCAT BREAKDOWNS OR WEATHER

If a ski day is lost due to snowcat breakdown, we will issue a credit forward towards your tour in the following year equal to 100% of the value of payments received for the partial or full ski day lost.  For partially cancelled tours, the heli‐transport costs to and from the lodge are not refundable. It is unlikely that cat skiing time would be lost due to a snowcat breakdown as we have a standby snowcat available to minimize this risk.

Weather-related problems beyond our control can cause down days. Once a tour is underway, Chatter Creek does not provide replacement ski days for down days due to weather-related problems, including but not limited to unfavourable snow conditions and inclement weather.

TRANSPORT DELAYS DUE TO WEATHER

There is no extra occupancy charge for guests delayed at the lodge due to weather. 

If the helicopter cannot fly to the lodge due to poor weather, a ground transfer will occur. Ground transfers can take four hours or longer, depending on road conditions. Chatter Creek assumes no responsibility for costs incurred by guests having to find alternate accommodation and meals due to transport delays in arriving at or leaving the lodge but will assist with finding suitable accommodation.

Chatter Creek is not responsible for mechanical issues or weather conditions which result in the helicopter being unavailable for transporting guests to/from the lodge. In the event ground transport is required, no refunds or trip credits are issued based on the means of transport for guest transfer in or out of the lodge.

TRIP INSURANCE

We recommend purchasing trip insurance for guest-initiated trip cancellations or delays, and for sickness or injury. You will not receive a refund from Chatter Creek if you do not attend or complete your trip for these reasons.  Guests should also carry adequate medical insurance to cover unforeseen costs in the event of injury. While we include heli evacuation coverage in the trip cost to cover the cost of a heli evacuation from the backcountry to the hospital, this does not cover any other fees involved with an injury, such as ambulance or hospital fees. Insurance for backcountry cat skiing trips is available through Uniglobe Specialty Insurance in Revelstoke, BC.  Contact Wanetta Stroo at revelstoke@uniglobespecialty.com or call 1‐866‐667‐0811 to book this product.

HELICOPTER EVACUATION COVERAGE

Chatter Creek provides heli evacuation coverage to guests at a fee of $5/day as part of the trip package cost. All Chatter Creek guests are required to participate in the heli evacuation coverage program to attend their trip.  The cost of a BC Air Ambulance evacuation can be $5,000 to $7,000, depending on the flight duration.  Air Ambulance is not always covered by medical insurance, and in most cases, it is not covered by Canadian provincial medical services plans.

If a guest is injured and the first aid attendant at the scene determines that a helicopter evacuation is required, the guest will be flown out, and the cost will be covered directly by the Chatter Creek heli evacuation coverage.

PERSONAL PROPERTY INSURANCE

Equipment lost while skiing or in transport is the responsibility of the guest.  Chatter Creek reserves the right to charge the skier for lost rental skis, radios, and other rented equipment lost by the guest in the tenure. 

REQUIRED LEVEL OF SKILL

In order for guests to safely and comfortably participate in cat skiing in the Chatter Creek tenure, guests should have a good fitness level and an intermediate or advanced ability to powder ski or board.  If you are not confident that your skiing/snowboarding ability or your fitness is at the required level, please give our booking office a call to discuss this matter in advance of booking your trip.  If you are unable to keep up with your snowcat group, your guide may ask that you sit out for one or multiple runs. Guests will not be reimbursed for any missed time that arises due to a lack of basic fitness or powder skiing ability.  

A snowcat can only move as fast as the slowest participant in the group.  While our booking team always attempts to put skiers of like ability together when booking participants into a mixed snowcat, the only way to guarantee the speed and ability of your group is to book the entire snowcat with like-minded friends.

GUEST GUIDELINES FOR ACCESSING THE LODGE AND TENURE

Chatter Creek requires that all guests recognize and agree to the following rules and guidelines regarding safe access and usage of the Chatter Creek lodge and tenure when signing the standard booking and cancellation contract:  

  1. All guests must read, understand, and sign the Chatter Creek cat skiing participant waiver prior to completing their initial trip booking and again prior to arrival at the Chatter Creek lodge and tenure.
  2. All guests must complete the guest intake form prior to completing their trip booking
  3. All guests must recognize that Chatter Creek guides and tail guides reserve the right to require a guest to sit out from skiing/snowboarding for one or multiple runs if they deem that the guest’s ability or fitness does not meet the basic required level and/or poses a safety risk to themselves or the snowcat group. 
  4. All guests must recognize that Chatter Creek management reserves the right to terminate a guest’s stay without refund should the behaviour of a guest compromise the general safety of staff or other lodge guests, and/or constitute sexual harassment of a staff member or lodge guest.
  5. All guests must recognize that Chatter Creek management reserves the right to terminate a guest’s rebooking privileges should the behaviour of a guest compromise the general safety of staff or other lodge guests, and/or constitute sexual harassment of a staff member or lodge guest.