ComplaintsforAlaska Mountain Guides

• Initial Complaint

  06/15/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  $4,000 paid in 2021 for participating in the ****************************** expedition.The dispute is that they supplied incorrect information, so that as a consequence the climb for summit day increased from ***** ft to ***** ft. I would never have signed up had I known that before, because of my age of 72 years. I certainly can climb ***** ft on a single day, but not ***** ft..

  Business response

  07/07/2022

  Hello, 
  We have reviewed the BBB complaint filed regarding our 2022 Mt. *********** Expedition. The complainant states that they would like a refund due to Contract Disputes with the service provided on the Mt. *********** Expedition.  
  The complainant had previously reached out to us directly in an email referencing our publicly available itinerary on the trip page of our website. The complainant did not elect to include the first portion of the itinerary which states below itinerary is extremely flexible in order to accommodate different weather and route conditions. This trip is primarily an expedition summit climb and may be shorter or longer in length as weather and conditions permit. In both publicly available information found on our website and the conversations we have had with the complainant it was explained that this program is a remote mountain expedition to Mt. *********** and the exact itinerary is flexible and subject to change based on weather and conditions. While it is unfortunate that the complainant was unable to complete the summit bid due to the additional distance/elevation gain, however these types of changes are inherent possibilities of a remote mountaineering expedition and did not affect the other guests on this program who were able to complete the summit bid with our guides.  
  In addition to publicly available information on our website the complainant signed a registration packet which acknowledges the complainants responsibility to be in good health and strong physical condition. Alaska Mountain Guides & Climbing School **** makes not guarantees/promises that participants will reach the summit as part of their trip. We stand by the decisions of our guide team, who in the interest of safety and well-being, determined that the complainant would not be able to safely reach the summit of Mt. ***********. The demonstrable efforts of other guests and our staff, including the successful summit of Mt. *********** during this particular program suggest that this issue was not a failing of our staff or the organization led expedition.  
  We respectfully decline the complainants request for reimbursement, and in accordance with our refund and cancellation policies will not be offering reimbursement or credit.  

  Customer response

  09/07/2022

  I am glad to provide my consumer rebuttal here, although the email you mention is no longer accessible to me (and several of my attempts to see that information on your public website were unsuccessful). So, I cannot respond directly to their statements.

  Here is my conclusion:

  I am unable to understand why they failed to post updated and corrected information regarding the summit day of the climb (as cited in my complaint) on their website in a timely manner. Furthermore, I feel they should have informed me directly about that, because I had already signed up and paid for this expedition, and my age and doctors evaluation were available to them. I let other people decide whether that behavior constitutes simply gross negligence or is in fact a dishonest business practice.

  That way I should have been given a chance to review the updated expedition plan and it would have been fair, I believe, to let me resign from participation without a penalty, as there was no longer any chance for me to succeed.

  Furthermore, I feel I actively helped in the success of the younger participants by voluntarily agreeing to stay back in camp. Those young participants took 16 hours (!) for their climb. Any attempt on my behalf (at my age of 71) to join them would have created considerable difficulties.

  As much as I can see, their arguments are besides the point and do not address the needs of senior customers.

  I agree to publish my conclusions for the benefit of potential future customers who will need to judge for themselves.

  *************************

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩