General Terms and Conditions (GTC) of Alpinschule Garmisch

Alpinschule Garmisch GmbH & Co KG, Bahnhofstraße 4, 82467 Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, offers courses, guided tours and package holidays.

The General Conditions of Participation set out in Part I below apply to courses and guided tours that do not constitute package holidays.

The Travel Terms and Conditions set out in Part II below apply exclusively to the package holidays offered.

Before booking, the service provider expressly indicates in each offer whether the service constitutes a package holiday or an individual service.

Part I: General Terms and Conditions for Courses and Guided Tours

§ 1 Scope of Application

(1) The following General Terms and Conditions (hereinafter referred to as "GTC") govern the contractual relationship for all courses and guided tours between Alpinschule Garmisch GmbH & Co KG and the contracting party (hereinafter referred to as the "Customer"). Before entering into a contract, the classification of an offer as a course, guided tour or package holiday can be found in the respective course description.

(2) These GTC apply exclusively to all courses and guided tours.

§ 2 Eligibility for Participation / Adverse Weather Conditions

(1) In principle, anyone who is in good health and meets the specific requirements of the respective activity is eligible to participate.

(2) Alpinschule Garmisch GmbH & Co KG, its representatives or agents are entitled to exclude Customers from an activity at the beginning or during the activity if they do not meet the requirements specified in paragraph 1. In such cases, the participation fee will not be refunded.

(3) The decision to cancel an activity due to weather or adverse weather conditions rests exclusively with Alpinschule Garmisch GmbH & Co KG. In such cases, the Customer will receive a voucher entitling them to participate in an equivalent activity of their choice within two years.

§ 3 Offers, Conclusion of Contract, Rental Equipment and Scope of Services

(1) All offers made by Alpinschule Garmisch GmbH & Co KG are non-binding.

(2) The contract is concluded upon confirmation of the booking by Alpinschule Garmisch GmbH & Co KG and covers the services specified in that confirmation.

(3) Rental equipment provided by the Organiser that is demonstrably damaged or not returned in proper condition must be replaced in full. This applies regardless of whether the equipment was rented in connection with an organised activity.

(4) All activities are prepared conscientiously, thoroughly and carefully by Alpinschule Garmisch. No particular outcome or success beyond the agreed services is guaranteed. In particular, reaching a summit or fulfilling any other subjective expectations that the Customer may associate with the activity is expressly not part of the contractual obligation.

(5) To ensure safety, the described courses and trips must be regarded as proposed itineraries. The mountain guide responsible for the activity is authorised to modify the programme on site whenever weather conditions, avalanche risks, insufficient physical fitness or other safety-related considerations make such changes necessary. The final decision rests with the mountain guide.

§ 4 Prices and Payment Terms

(1) The prices applicable to the services are those listed in the current price list or published on the website.

(2) Following conclusion of the contract, the full participation fee becomes due for payment within four weeks.

§ 5 Minimum Number of Participants

(1) Courses and guided tours can generally only take place if the minimum number of participants is reached, unless otherwise stated in the respective activity description. If the minimum number of participants is not reached, the Organiser is entitled to withdraw from the contract before the activity begins. For one-day activities, day courses and one-day guided tours, the Organiser may notify the Customer of cancellation no later than three days before the scheduled activity.

(2) If it becomes apparent at an earlier stage that the minimum number of participants cannot be reached, the Organiser must exercise its right of withdrawal without delay. If the activity does not take place for this reason, the Customer will receive an immediate refund of all payments made. Additional expenses, such as vaccinations, visas, hotel accommodation or train tickets, cannot be reimbursed.

§ 6 Cancellation by the Customer

(1) The Customer may withdraw from the contract at any time before the activity begins. The relevant date is the date on which the Organiser receives the cancellation notice. Cancellation must be made in writing.

(2) If the Customer withdraws from the contract or does not make use of the booked service, the Organiser may charge a standardised cancellation fee. This amounts to:

• Up to 30 days before the activity begins: 30% of the activity price.

• 29 to 15 days before the activity begins: 50% of the activity price.

• From 14 days before the activity begins: 80% of the activity price.

• From 48 hours before the activity begins: 100% of the activity price.

(3) The Customer expressly retains the right to demonstrate that the Organiser has incurred lower costs or no loss whatsoever.

(4) The Organiser reserves the right to claim higher compensation calculated on an individual basis if it can demonstrate that the expenses actually incurred were significantly higher than the applicable standard cancellation fee.

(5) Taking out travel cancellation insurance and insurance covering repatriation costs in the event of an accident or illness is strongly recommended.

§ 7 Limitation of Liability

(1) The Organiser is liable in accordance with statutory provisions in cases of intent or gross negligence on the part of the Organiser, its representatives or agents. In all other cases, the Organiser is liable only for injury to life, body or health and for culpable breaches of essential contractual obligations. However, claims for damages arising from breaches of essential contractual obligations are limited to foreseeable losses typical for the contract, unless another case of mandatory liability under sentences 1 or 2 also applies.

(2) The provisions of paragraph 1 apply to all claims for damages, including damages in addition to performance and damages in lieu of performance, regardless of their legal basis. This applies in particular to claims arising from breaches of contractual obligations or unlawful acts. These provisions also apply to claims for reimbursement of wasted expenditure. Liability for delay is, however, governed by § 7, and liability for impossibility of performance by § 8.

(3) The foregoing provisions do not alter the burden of proof to the detriment of the Customer.

§ 8 Liability for Delay

(1) If deadlines cannot be met due to force majeure, such as mobilisation, war, civil unrest or comparable events, including strikes or lockouts, the relevant deadlines will be extended by a reasonable period.

(2) In cases of delayed performance caused by intent or gross negligence on the part of the Organiser, its representatives or agents, the Organiser is liable in accordance with statutory provisions. In other cases of delayed performance, the Organiser's liability for damages in addition to performance is limited to 15% of the value of the service, and liability for damages in lieu of performance is limited to 25% of the value of the service. Any further claims by the Customer are excluded, even after the expiry of any additional deadline set for performance. These limitations do not apply to liability arising from injury to life, body or health.

(3) The foregoing provisions do not alter the burden of proof to the detriment of the Customer.

§ 9 Liability for Impossibility of Performance

(1) If performance becomes impossible, the Customer is entitled to claim damages in accordance with statutory provisions. However, the Customer's entitlement to damages in addition to or in lieu of performance, as well as reimbursement of wasted expenditure, is limited to 15% of the value of the portion of the service that cannot be used due to the impossibility of performance. Further claims arising from impossibility of performance are excluded. This limitation does not apply in cases involving intent, gross negligence or injury to life, body or health.

(2) The Customer's right to withdraw from the contract remains unaffected.

(3) The foregoing provisions do not alter the burden of proof to the detriment of the Customer.

§ 10 Vouchers

(1) All vouchers issued for Alpinschule Garmisch are subject to statutory provisions and generally expire after a period of three years.

§ 11 Insurance

(1) All participants are strongly advised to take out travel cancellation insurance, personal liability insurance, accident insurance and international health insurance. All our mountain guides, hiking guides and other assistants are, of course, covered by liability insurance.

§ 12 Rights to Photographs and Videos

(1) Photographs and videos taken during an activity by our mountain guides or other participants may be made available for download on our website. These photographs and videos may also be published on social media platforms.

If you do not agree to this, you must inform the Organiser in writing after the activity has ended. Notification by email is also accepted.

If no such notification is received, the Organiser assumes that you consent to the provision and publication of these photographs and videos.

§ 13 Set-Off and Right of Retention

(1) The Customer may only offset claims that are undisputed or have been legally established by a final court judgment.

§ 14 Written Form

(1) Amendments and additions to the contract may only be made by the management or persons specifically authorised by the Organiser. Verbal agreements or statements made by other persons are only valid if confirmed in writing by the Organiser's management.

(2) Any verbal supplementary agreements are invalid.

§ 15 Place of Jurisdiction / Applicable Law

(1) If the Customer is a merchant within the meaning of German commercial law, the exclusive place of jurisdiction for all disputes arising from the contractual relationship is the registered office of Alpinschule Garmisch GmbH & Co KG.

(2) The legal relationship between the parties is governed by German law, excluding the conflict-of-law provisions of private international law.

Part II: General Terms and Conditions for Package Holidays

§ 1 Scope of Application

(1) The following General Terms and Conditions (hereinafter referred to as "GTC") govern the contractual relationship for all package holidays between Alpinschule Garmisch GmbH & Co KG (hereinafter referred to as the "Tour Operator") and the contracting party (hereinafter referred to as the "Participant" or "Traveller").

They supplement and elaborate on the statutory provisions of Sections 651a to 651y of the German Civil Code (Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch – BGB) and Articles 250 and 252 of the Introductory Act to the German Civil Code (Einführungsgesetz zum Bürgerlichen Gesetzbuch – EGBGB).

Before entering into a contract, the classification of an offer as a course, guided tour or package holiday can be found in the respective activity description.

(2) These GTC apply exclusively to all package holidays.

§ 2 Contracting Parties to the Travel Contract

Travellers are the contractual partners of the Tour Operator.

For bookings involving several participants (group bookings or collective registrations), the following applies:

A Traveller is a person who books a trip for themselves and clearly also for members of their family.

For all other group bookings or collective registrations, each individual participant is also considered a Traveller.

Irrespective of this, the person making the booking or registration is liable for the full travel price if they have expressly assumed such an individual obligation through an explicit declaration.

§ 3 Content of the Travel Contract

The contractual content consists of the travel descriptions and pre-contractual travel information provided by Alpinschule Garmisch GmbH & Co KG and available to the Traveller at the time of booking, in accordance with Article 250 § 3 Nos. 1, 3 to 5 and 7 EGBGB.

The Tour Operator's pre-contractual information regarding the essential characteristics of the travel services, the travel price and all additional costs, payment arrangements, the minimum number of participants and cancellation fees (in accordance with Article 250 § 3 Nos. 1, 3 to 5 and 7 EGBGB) forms part of the package travel contract.

Changes may only be made with the written consent of both contracting parties.

Other pre-contractual travel information concerning general passport and visa requirements of the destination country, including approximate processing times for obtaining visas, as well as health-related formalities (Article 250 § 3 No. 6 EGBGB), information about insurance and travel insurance (Article 250 § 3 No. 8 EGBGB), does not form part of the contract.

§ 4 Conclusion of the Contract

The basis of the offer is the travel description published by Alpinschule Garmisch GmbH & Co KG together with any supplementary information relating to the respective trip.

Bookings may be made verbally, by telephone, in writing or by email.

Upon conclusion of the contract, the Traveller receives a booking confirmation by email, which also serves as confirmation of the contract and complies with Section 651d (3), sentence 2 BGB.

For online bookings, the Traveller makes a binding offer to conclude a travel contract by clicking the button labelled "zahlungspflichtig buchen" ("Book with obligation to pay").

The Customer will receive immediate electronic confirmation that their booking or travel registration has been received (acknowledgement of receipt).

Acceptance of the booking takes place through the booking confirmation within three days.

§ 5 Payment

Following conclusion of the contract, a deposit of 30% of the travel price becomes due for payment.

The remaining balance must be paid no later than four weeks before the start of the trip.

Upon payment, the Traveller receives an insolvency protection certificate (Reisesicherungsschein).

Earlier payment deadlines may apply to certain travel services, as specified in the respective travel descriptions.

If the deposit and/or final payment is not made by the agreed due dates, we are entitled to withdraw from the travel contract after issuing a payment reminder and setting a payment deadline, and to charge you the applicable cancellation fees.

§ 6 Changes to Travel Services Before Departure

Alpinschule Garmisch GmbH & Co KG reserves the right to make changes to its offers, particularly regarding service descriptions and prices.

The Tour Operator may increase the agreed travel price by a maximum of 8%.

We undertake to inform you clearly and comprehensibly of any changes to the travel services as soon as we become aware of the reason for such changes, for example by email.

In the event of a significant change to an essential characteristic of a travel service forming part of the travel contract, you are entitled either to accept the changes or to withdraw from the travel contract within a reasonable period specified by us.

§ 7 Cancellation by the Customer

(1) The Customer may withdraw from the contract at any time before the trip begins. The relevant date is the date on which the Tour Operator receives the cancellation notice. Cancellation must be made in writing.

(2) If the Customer withdraws from the contract or does not make use of the booked travel services, the Tour Operator may charge a standardised cancellation fee. This amounts to:

• Up to 30 days before the activity begins: 30% of the activity price.

• 29 to 15 days before the activity begins: 50% of the activity price.

• From 14 days before the activity begins: 80% of the activity price.

• From 48 hours before the activity begins: 100% of the activity price.

(3) The Customer expressly retains the right to demonstrate that the Tour Operator has incurred lower costs or no loss whatsoever.

(4) The Tour Operator reserves the right to claim higher compensation calculated on an individual basis if it can demonstrate that the expenses actually incurred were significantly higher than the applicable standard cancellation fee.

(5) Taking out travel cancellation insurance and insurance covering repatriation costs in the event of an accident or illness is strongly recommended.

§ 8 Rebooking and Changes to Bookings

As a general rule, Travellers are not entitled to request contractual changes or rebooking after the contract has been concluded.

Alpinschule Garmisch GmbH & Co KG may accommodate requests for changes from Travellers where this is possible and legally permissible.

§ 9 Cancellation Due to Insufficient Participant Numbers

The Tour Operator may withdraw from the contract if the advertised minimum number of participants is not reached.

Alpinschule Garmisch GmbH & Co KG must provide notice of cancellation within the applicable deadlines:

For trips lasting up to six days, cancellation must be communicated no later than seven days before departure.

For trips lasting up to two days, cancellation must be communicated no later than two days before departure.

If it becomes apparent at an earlier stage that the minimum number of participants will not be reached, Alpinschule Garmisch GmbH & Co KG will inform the Travellers accordingly.

If a trip cannot take place because the minimum number of participants has not been reached, the full travel price will be refunded. No further claims may be asserted.

§ 10 Traveller's Duty to Cooperate

Alpinschule Garmisch GmbH & Co KG may terminate the travel contract without notice if the Traveller does not possess the physical fitness or personal skills required for the respective trip and their continued participation is therefore no longer reasonably acceptable to the Tour Operator and/or the other Travellers.

In such cases, the Tour Operator remains entitled to the travel price.

The Traveller undertakes to provide the Tour Operator with truthful information regarding any existing health impairments, disabilities, illnesses or pregnancy.

In cases of serious illness, the Tour Operator may request a medical certificate.

The Traveller must inform the Tour Operator if the necessary travel documents have not been received before departure.

Damage to, loss of or delay in the delivery of luggage must be reported immediately upon discovery to the responsible carrier or transport company.

Alpinschule Garmisch GmbH & Co KG accepts no liability for luggage transportation and storage carried out as part of its trips.

§ 11 Limitation of Liability

Alpinschule Garmisch GmbH & Co KG limits its contractual liability for damage that does not involve personal injury and has not been caused culpably to three times the travel price.

The liability of Alpinschule Garmisch GmbH & Co KG in tort for damage that does not involve personal injury and is not based on intent or gross negligence is likewise limited to three times the travel price per Customer and trip.

Potential claims arising from international conventions or statutory provisions based on such conventions remain unaffected by these limitations.

We accept no liability for disruptions to services, personal injury or property damage in connection with travel services that are merely arranged as third-party services.

The statutory provisions of Section 651h (2) BGB apply.

§ 12 Limitation Period

Claims pursuant to Section 651i (3) Nos. 2 and 4 to 7 BGB must be asserted against Alpinschule Garmisch GmbH & Co KG.

The limitation period begins on the date on which the package holiday was contractually scheduled to end.

§ 13 Passport, Visa and Health Regulations

Before conclusion of the contract, Alpinschule Garmisch GmbH & Co KG informs the Traveller about the general passport and visa requirements and health-related formalities of the destination country, including the approximate processing times for obtaining any necessary visas.

Travellers will also be informed of any changes to these requirements before departure.

The Traveller is solely responsible for obtaining and carrying the necessary travel documents, obtaining any required vaccinations and complying with customs and foreign exchange regulations.

§ 14 Dispute Resolution

The European Commission provides an online dispute resolution platform for consumer disputes arising from contracts concluded through the Tour Operator's website or by email at:

ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr/

Alpinschule Garmisch GmbH & Co KG does not participate in dispute resolution proceedings before a consumer arbitration board.

§ 15 Data Protection

When a booking is made, Alpinschule Garmisch GmbH & Co KG collects personal data from Travellers that is necessary for the fulfilment and performance of the travel contract.

This data is stored and processed electronically and, where necessary for the purposes of the contract, transferred to third parties.

§ 16 Insurance

All trips are covered by liability insurance held by Alpinschule Garmisch GmbH & Co KG.

All Travellers are advised to take out travel cancellation insurance, international health insurance and travel accident insurance that includes rescue and repatriation coverage.

§ 17 Place of Jurisdiction

The concluded contract is governed by German law.

§ 18 Special Provisions Concerning Alpine Hazards / Description of Risks

Trips organised by Alpinschule Garmisch GmbH & Co KG require a high degree of personal responsibility on the part of the Traveller.

Activities in mountainous terrain, particularly mountaineering, involve an increased risk of accidents.

Alpinschule Garmisch GbR cannot guarantee absolute safety.

Objective alpine hazards, including rockfall, falling ice, lightning strikes, sudden changes in weather, avalanches, collapsing cornices and similar natural hazards, cannot be completely eliminated even by our experienced and highly qualified mountain guides and tour leaders.

In fulfilment of their duty of care, a certified mountain and ski guide or another appropriately qualified tour leader may modify or terminate a planned trip if the technical abilities or physical fitness of the Travellers are insufficient.

Alpinschule Garmisch GmbH & Co KG recommends that all Travellers familiarise themselves thoroughly with the potential requirements, risks and conditions associated with the trip.