General Information Common to All Trips:

• Notes on Travel and Rescue Insurance
• General Helicopter Safety Notes
• Crevasse and Avalanche Hazards (Primarily for winter trips)
• Notes on the Use of "Light Gear" (sometimes considered on glaciers in winter)

What is an "Organized Trip" ?

In a nutshell, it means that all of the logistics and non-personal supplies are arranged and covered and that participants all pay a share of the total costs, including enough to cover the trip costs of the organizer. Many organizations, such as sections of the Alpine Club of Canada and others, offer trips which are set up in more or less this manner.The cost to participants covers the trip costs, with any extra going into a dedicated "trip fund" account and, likewise, with any shortfall or long-term multi-trip expenses coming out of the fund.

Organized trips are not guided. Guiding is not included in the costs and all participants are expected to be able to pursue their own various interests with each other and/or on their own. If it is requested in advance guiding may be a possibility, in which case a quote for the costs of that service can be provided.

Trip costs generally include helicopter transport, hut fees or basecamp supplies, a group-sized first aid kit, repair supplies (especially ski repair in winter), a VHF radio and solar panel charger, food, and sometimes a cook or food planner. Basically the idea is for participants to have everything covered for one fee other than getting to/from our meeting point.

Costs can vary widely, past trips had cost between $650 and $950 for the week. Winter trips almost always come in towards the top end but often include a cook along on the trip. In the summer there is a great deal more flexibility in group size, food planning, and most other aspects. For a small group doing their own food planning (with centralized purchasing of the actual food items) and a short flight the costs are significantly lower. A lot depends on helicopter use - whether the maximum capacity is actually used, how many shuttles there are, the length of the flight, and whether there are other groups flying in the same area (or work flights, i.e. for a National Park) to help spread some of the overhead.