top of page

Cancellation Policy

Updated - 2/20/23

 

This cancellation policy has been created to help us protect our business while understanding the personal investments made by our customers. We are a small business running on tight margins and our staff are all members of the LGBTQ+ community, an historically marginalized community. We hope you recognize that this policy reflects our commitment to providing secure and stable income for our guides and staff. Our business model prioritizes uplifting LGBTQ+ individuals. With our tight margins, we hope that you understand the importance of this policy. OUT in the Wild Reserves the right to amend, change or edit this Cancellation policy at any time. 

​

General Ticketed Events

(Including Festivals, Climb OUT Campouts, Single Day Public Clinics, etc)

 

  • Cancellation within 48 hours of PURCHASING your trip, you will be refunded in full minus a 6% processing fee. This covers the processing fees instated by our credit processors on both the purchase and the refund. This policy exists outside of the following policies. 

 

 After 48 hour from purchase, please refer to the following:

  • 60 or more Days Prior to Course: You will be refunded 80% of the purchase price. 

  • 30 to 59 Days Prior to Course: You will be refunded 70% of the purchase price

  • 2 weeks to 29 Days Prior to Course: You will be refunded 50% of the purchase price. 

  • 2 weeks Prior to Course: You will be offered a credit for your purchase to use on any future OITW program. 

  • Cancellation within 1 week of start date: we are unable to offer refunds or credits. 

 

Other Cancellation Reasons:

  • If OUT in the Wild cancels your course for any reason, you can choose between a 70% refund or full credit to a future program. 

  • If your program is cut off mid day for any reason, we can not offer any refund or credit. 

 

Our cancellation policy includes Covid-19. Due to the current situation with Covid-19, we will not make exceptions to this policy. Because of this we strongly recommend you purchase travel insurance and take extra precautions in the weeks leading up to your course to avoid Covid-19 exposure. 

 

We are continually monitoring the local, national and worldwide situation and we reserve the right to change this cancellation policy at any time. 

 

Private Guided Days

  • Cancellation within 48 hours of PURCHASING your trip, you will be refunded in full minus a 6% processing fee. This covers the processing fees instated by our credit processors on both the purchase and the refund. This policy exists outside of the following policies. 

 

 After 48 hour from purchase, please refer to the following:

  • 60 or more Days Prior to Course: You will be refunded 85% of deposit

  • 30 to 59 Days Prior to Course: You will be refunded 70% of deposit

  • 21 to 29 Days Prior to Course: You will be refunded 50% of deposit

  • 14 - 21 days  Prior to Course: You will be refunded 25% of deposit or receive a full credit to reschedule. 

  • Cancellation within 1 week of start date: we are unable to offer refunds or credits. 

 

Other Cancellation Reasons:

  • If OUT in the Wild cancels your course for any reason:

    • 30 or more days prior to course - Full refund

    • 14-30 days prior -  you can choose between a 80% refund of depsoit or full credit to a future program. 

    • 24 hours to 14 days prior - full credit to reschedule or 70% of deposit. 

  • If your program is cut off mid day for any reason, we can not offer any refund or credit. 

 

Our cancellation policy includes Covid-19. Due to the current situation with Covid-19, we will not make exceptions to this policy. Because of this we strongly recommend you purchase travel insurance and take extra precautions in the weeks leading up to your course to avoid Covid-19 exposure. 

 

We are continually monitoring the local, national and worldwide situation and we reserve the right to change this cancellation policy at any time. 

 

WILDFIRE & SMOKE POLICIES 

Ammended on 9/12/2022

We care about both our participant’s and our guide’s health and wellbeing. This is our first priority. Wildfire smoke has become a new annual reality to us on the west coast. While we may be accustomed to it and our lives may still move on as normal when it’s smokey, there are specific concerns regarding our programs that give us pause to contemplate whether going forward is safe for everyone’s health. 

 

Factors we take into consideration with smoke: 

 

Air Quality Index - The air quality index is a system made by the EPA for reporting daily air quality. It focuses on health effects you may experience within a few hours or days of breathing polluted air. The idex ranges from 0 - 500+, with 0-100 thought of as satisfactory. Above 100, concerns rise over health effects with prolonged exposure, physical exertion or underlying health conditions. Please refer to this link to the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality for more information.

 

Duration of Exposure - Because our programs are all outdoors, there is concern over the duration of exposure we would put our participants through during our programs. Specifically, our overnight campouts pose a higher risk even at lower AQIs because of 24 hour exposure over multiple days. 

 

Activity/Level of Exertion - While rock climbing is not super strenuous cardio, it is still a high exertion activity that causes increased respiration and heart rate. While we often stand around while waiting for climbs or learning during clinics, the approaches and hikes can be more strenuous as well as time on rope climbing a wall. Here is a link to a PDF put out by the Oregon Health Authority.

 

Possible underlying conditions of participants - We are especially sensitive to protecting our participants who many have minor underlying health concerns like Asthma and heart conditions. Wildfire smoke can cause severe reactions for these individuals even at lower AQIs. Check out this document discussing the effects of smoke from the oregon health authority.  

 

Forecasts and Guidance

We use the following AQI reports and forecast models to determine our decision:


 

Postponement and Cancellation Policies

 

As stated above, our first priority is our Participant’s and Guides’ health and wellbeing. OUT in the Wild reserves the right to cancel or postpone programming due to smoke or threat of wildfire up to the start of a program and/or in the midst of a program. We have instated the following policies that govern our decision making. 

 

***PLEASE ALLOW UP TO 1 WEEK FROM NOTIFICATION FOR FURTHER INFORMATION REGARDING NEXT STEPS FOR POSTPONED DATES, REFUND INFO AND CREDITS.*** 

 

Overnight/Multi-day Camping programs

 

Due to the nature of our overnight programs and the prolonged exposure to smoke and pollutants, we will take a more conservative approach to making the decision to postpone or cancel an event. Because participants will be camping and will have multiple days of 24 hours of exposure, we believe it is important to take this into account even when AQI levels are below 150. 

 

  • Forecasted AQI over 120 - If the AQI is forecast to be over 120 for 1 or more days (24+ hours) of our program we will postpone or cancel the program. 

  • Day of AQI over 120 - If the AQI reaches 120 in the midst of a program, we will find immediate relief at an indoor location such as local gear shop/cafe or climbing gym to continue programming with clinics. We will assess the future outlook and if the AQI is forecast to remain above 1 overnight, we will move to cancel or postpone the program. 

  • AQI Unavailable - In the event that AQI is unavailable we will use the 5-3-1 method using visual visibility to determine the air quality and safety. We will use the following charts to determine. AQI and VISIBILITY INDEX

  • Participant Health Conditions - In the event that the AQI is below 120 and there is a high number of participants with health conditions that are affected by smoke even below AQI of 120, 50% or more, we will postpone the event due to low numbers. If less than 50% of participants are affected, those who have underlying health conditions can choose to cancel and receive a refund or credit for future programs. 

 

Single Day Programs

 

Because of the shorter nature of these programs, we will follow the guidelines of the EPA for outdoor activities in smoke. 

 

  • Forecasted AQI over 150 - If the AQI is forecast to be over 150 we will cancel or postpone programs. 

  • Day of AQI over 150 - If AQI reaches 150 during the program, will find immediate relief at an indoor location such as local gear shop/cafe or climbing gym to continue programming with indoor clinics. 

  • AQI Unavailable - In the event that AQI is unavailable we will use the 5-3-1 method using visual visibility to determine the air quality and safety. We will use the following charts to determine. AQI and VISIBILITY INDEX

  • Participant Health Conditions - In the event that the AQI is below 150 and there is a high number of participants with health conditions that are affected by smoke even below AQI of 150, 50% or more, we will postpone the event due to low numbers. If less than 50% of participants are affected, those who have underlying health conditions can choose to cancel and receive a refund or credit for future programs. 

 

Refunds and Credits

 

In the event that a program is canceled we will work with each participant’s needs. As a small business, we take on high amounts of risk to put on these programs and often have expenses prior to a program that are non-refundable. IF you are able to accept a credit for a future program we ask that you choose this option to allow us to move forward. The following are our policies for issuing refunds and credits in the event of postponement or canceling: 

 

  • Participant drop out prior to program - Separate from our basic cancellation policy, if a participant chooses to not attend up to the start of the event due to concerns over smoke, we will issue a full program credit for use towards a future program.

  • OUT in the Wild Cancels program - If OUT in the Wild cancels a program due to the above policies, all participants will have the option of (1) signing on for a new postponed date, (2) accept a 70% refund, or (3) accept a full credit to a future program to be used within 12 calendar months. 

  • Mid Program Cancellation - In the event that Air quality becomes unhealthy in the middle of a program, we are unable to issue refunds or credits. We consider this a situation out of our control and as a community are taking on the risk of this unfortunate situation.  

 

OUT in the Wild reserves the right to Cancel a program at any time due to concerns over the health and safety of participants and guides. We strive to make these decisions with ample time for participants to change travel plans etc but there may be situations that are out of our control where canceling with short notice is necessary.

bottom of page