Waiver & participation agreement

Read before signing

Release of Liability, Waiver of Claims, Assumption of Risks and Indemnity

1. Your decision to participate

This document is called the Agreement. It concerns the activities and travel services defined on page 2 (Covered Services). Each adult participant must read and sign for themselves. A booking made by one person does not, by itself, release claims belonging to other adults.

Take the time you need. Ask for clarification or language assistance before signing if any part is unclear. Do not sign while an unanswered question prevents you from understanding the Agreement.

2. BOOKING-SPECIFIC CONSENT - COVERAGE PERIOD FOR LEGAL REVIEW

This review draft is intended for the Covered Services identified by the booking/confirmation number, service date(s), itinerary and agreed pickup/return arrangements recorded on page 7. It does not automatically carry forward to later or unrelated bookings. A material change to the terms or nature of those services requires fresh, booking-specific informed consent.

LEGAL REVIEW FLAG - PROPOSED 24-MONTH OPTION, NOT SELECTED. A previous draft proposed reuse for 24 months. This draft instead proposes booking-specific consent. No extended-coverage option is activated or represented as legally approved. Any alternative period requires Alberta counsel review, insurer approval and an appropriately revised consent process before use.

Who and what is covered

3. Company and Releasees

Company means Lord of the Lakes Tours Inc. Releasees means the Company; its directors, officers, employees, volunteers, drivers, guides and instructors, including supervising or trainee guides; its agents, representatives, contractors and subcontractors; and its successors and permitted assigns. It also includes other participants and organizations involved in providing or taking part in the Covered Services, but only in connection with their involvement in those services.

4. Covered Services

Actual service model. The Covered Services are the sightseeing transportation, designated visitor stops, general visitor information and agreed pickup/return arrangements expressly described in the identified booking. The categories below distinguish those services from independent activities and future optional services; they are not a promise that an unlisted activity is provided, included or insured.

Sightseeing transportation and visitor stops. Private and shared day, sunrise, sunset and stargazing itineraries involve vehicle travel and designated scenic, wildlife-viewing or photography stops. Company personnel may provide general visitor information, a site orientation and directions. Guests explore independently during agreed free time and return to the specified meeting point at the agreed time. These services do not include continuously guided hiking, trail navigation instruction or continuous trail supervision. A different, separately contracted service must be described and reviewed before it is offered.

Passenger travel. Tour transportation and stand-alone transfers; airport arrivals and departures; airport-to-hotel, hotel-to-airport and hotel-to-hotel journeys; accommodation-to-ski-resort or other mountain transfers; one-way, return and agreed standby services. Coverage includes meeting points, passenger pickup and drop-off, boarding and alighting, luggage and ski-equipment loading, carriage and unloading.

Booking-specific comforts and support. Only refreshments and comfort items expressly listed in the confirmed booking are included, as actually supplied. Under the sightseeing and transportation services described here, the Company does not supply bear spray, personal flotation devices, skis or snowboards, or provide instruction in hiking, climbing, paddling or snow sports. Guests obtain personal activity equipment or specialist instruction from suitable independent providers.

Independent activities and future optional services. Walking, hiking, skiing, canoeing, kayaking, swimming, climbing, helicopter rides and other activities independently selected by guests are not Company-provided or Company-supervised services under this booking. Transport to a location does not make those activities included in the tour price or represented as insured by the Company. Guests assess suitability, obtain equipment and permissions, and follow park, resort and independent-provider rules. Any future Company-provided or arranged optional activity requires an explicit written service description, confirmed inclusions and appropriate legal and insurer review before it is offered. This draft does not activate such a service.

Warnings about terrain, water, ice, equipment or other environments describe potential exposure near visitor stops and during independent free time. They do not mean that the Company operates the independent activities listed above.

5. Meaning of negligence

Negligence in this Agreement means a failure to exercise the reasonable care required in the circumstances by a guide, instructor, driver, operator or other Releasee, including a breach of a legally imposed duty of care. It may involve inadequate advice, instructions, warnings, supervision, equipment selection or maintenance, route assessment, transport operation, first aid or reasonable steps to protect a participant. The legal limits on releasing such claims remain those on page 5.

Understand the risks

Participation can lead to injury, psychological harm, paralysis, permanent disability, death, property damage or other loss. Conditions may be uncontrolled, unmarked or uninspected, and Company personnel or another operator may misjudge whether a location or transport arrangement is safe. Independent exploration is not continuously supervised. These warnings describe relevant environments and exposure; they do not add excluded activities to the booked services. The risks include:

Ground, snow and mountain terrain. Slipping, tripping, losing balance or falling at ground level or from height; cliffs, steep or unstable slopes, cornices, crevasses, avalanches, rockfall and boulders; snow-covered holes or depressions; changing snow or ice; roots, branches, fallen timber, loose gravel and other hidden or exposed obstacles.

Weather and exposure. Rapid or extreme weather changes, lightning, high winds, storms, forest fires and smoke; sunburn, dehydration, heat exhaustion or heat stroke; severe cold, frostbite, hypothermia or hyperthermia; and altitude-related illness, including pulmonary or cerebral oedema. Darkness, glare, fog and snowfall may obscure hazards or impair navigation.

Water and natural ice. Cold-water immersion, uncertain depth, strong or unpredictable currents and rapids; capsizing; becoming trapped beneath water, ice, a boat, vegetation or equipment; drowning; and contaminated water. A frozen surface may conceal thin ice or open water and does not establish that a lake is safe to enter.

Equipment, people and travel. Equipment malfunction or incorrect use; collisions with terrain, structures, vehicles, watercraft, equipment or other people; road accidents; luggage movement; inexperienced, inattentive or negligent conduct by participants or others; inadequate instructions, first aid or rescue; becoming lost or separated; and witnessing or experiencing a distressing incident.

Wildlife and food. Encounters with domestic or wild animals, harmful plants, insects or other organisms; allergic reactions; and contamination of food, drinking water or other refreshments. Food and outdoor conditions may not suit every allergy or individual need.

Releasees' negligence and delayed help. The risks include negligence by the Releasees themselves, including failure to warn, give adequate advice or take reasonable protective measures. Mobile service may be absent. Rescue, evacuation or medical treatment may be unavailable or delayed, and weather may change without warning.

6. My safety commitments and voluntary participation

I will follow reasonable safety instructions and closures, use any protective equipment required for an activity I independently choose, respect the agreed free-time boundaries, and return to the agreed meeting point at the agreed time. I will promptly report illness, fatigue, cold or difficulty to the Company when able. During independent exploration I remain responsible for my activity choices, navigation, children in my care and obtaining suitable equipment; an orientation is not continuous supervision or an assurance that terrain or ice is safe. I will not participate while affected by alcohol, recreational drugs or other substances that impair safe participation. I will disclose relevant assistance needs and allergies without providing unnecessary medical details.

I understand these risks and choose to participate voluntarily despite them. I accept the possibility of serious harm or loss associated with the Covered Services, subject to the rights preserved on page 5. This acknowledgement does not authorize entry onto unsafe ice, closed terrain or a prohibited activity.

Travel and transfers

7. This section also applies to transportation booked without a sightseeing tour. It covers agreed airport arrival and departure transfers, accommodation and resort transfers, return journeys, waiting, and the loading or unloading of people, luggage and declared equipment.

Road and boarding risks. These include collisions, rollovers, sudden braking, breakdowns, driver or other road-user error, winter roads, limited visibility, wildlife on the road, road closures and avalanche-control delays. Falls at kerbs, car parks, steps or icy pickup points, doors, moving luggage and loading injuries may also occur.

Airport arrival. I will provide the correct flight number, date, arrival airport, contact details and destination, and report changes I know about. Landing time is not the same as driver meeting time: immigration, baggage collection and walking to the meeting point take time. The confirmation specifies the meeting point, included flight monitoring and any waiting allowance. Meeting inside a restricted area is not included unless expressly arranged and permitted.

Airport departure. I will provide the correct flight details and be ready at the agreed pickup time with my travel documents and luggage. The pickup plan must allow for the route and the airline's check-in requirements. Travel-time estimates are not a promise that a connection will be met in every condition. This does not release obligations or passenger rights that cannot lawfully be excluded.

Delay, missed pickup and changes. If a flight changes, I am delayed or I cannot find the driver, I will use the contact instructions in my confirmation promptly. Flight monitoring does not create unlimited waiting or guarantee a vehicle at every revised time. Included waiting, extra stops, no-show treatment, rescheduling and any additional charges must be set out in the booking terms accepted by the customer; this Agreement creates no unquoted fee or automatic forfeiture.

Luggage, ski gear and seats. I will declare the number and size of bags, skis, snowboards and special equipment, together with children's ages and restraint or accessibility needs. The agreed vehicle must have suitable seating, restraints and stowage. I will follow loading instructions, keep aisles clear and wear the required restraint. I will keep essential medicines, travel documents and valuables with me where practical, and check my belongings at drop-off. No blanket exclusion of legally protected baggage rights is intended.

Dedicated ski-day service. When expressly booked, the vehicle and driver remain assigned for the agreed period, including driving, waiting and return. Lift tickets, rentals, lessons and on-slope guiding are separate unless included in writing. Resort and independent-provider rules continue to apply; their services are not automatically operated by the Company.

Passenger rights. The page 5 release is intended to operate for transport-related claims only to the extent applicable passenger-carriage, motor-vehicle and insurance law permits. It does not waive mandatory accident benefits or another right that cannot legally be waived. A reference to an occupiers' liability law is not, by itself, a release of every transport liability.

Release and indemnity

8. Adult participant's release of claims

In return for being allowed to take part in the Covered Services and to use associated facilities or equipment, I enter into the release below as an adult signing for myself. It concerns claims connected with the services I choose during the period on page 1, including claims I discover later. It is subject to section 10 below.

9. Third-party claims and indemnity

If a third party seeks compensation from a Releasee for personal injury or property damage resulting from my participation in the Covered Services, I undertake, insofar as law allows, to meet the resulting liability and hold that Releasee harmless. This includes claims connected with my travel, boarding or handling of luggage and equipment, together with reasonable defence expenses lawfully recoverable under this undertaking.

This is a broad financial undertaking tied to participation, not limited solely to a finding that I was negligent. It remains subject to section 10. It does not shift liability that cannot legally be transferred or require repayment merely because a child exercises a non-waivable right.

10. Rights and obligations that remain

Every release, indemnity, assumption of risk, choice-of-law clause and other limitation in this Agreement is subject to applicable mandatory law. Nothing removes a non-waivable consumer protection, mandatory insurance or accident benefit, a protected right belonging to a minor or third party, or a liability that cannot legally be excluded. Fraud and deliberate injury are not released.

These limits control any inconsistent general language elsewhere. Transportation remains subject to page 4. This Agreement does not cancel a refund or other entitlement under mandatory law or the written booking terms. It is not permission to operate without required licences, insurance, safe procedures or legally required care.

Other terms and families

11. Governing law and proceedings. The parties intend the laws of Alberta and applicable Canadian federal law to govern this Agreement, and intend proceedings about it to be heard in the courts of Alberta, except where mandatory law or a court's lawful jurisdiction requires otherwise. Travel into British Columbia does not displace mandatory laws that apply there.

12. Estate and severability. To the extent permitted by law, the commitments of an adult signatory bind that person's estate, personal representatives, successors and permitted assigns. They do not purport to release an independent right the signatory has no authority to give up. If a provision cannot be enforced, it is severed or limited only as the law permits; the remainder continues where legally possible.

13. Statements about safety. I am not relying on a statement outside this Agreement or the written booking terms that the Covered Services are risk-free or that a particular safety outcome is assured. This is not an exclusion of liability for fraud, an unlawful misrepresentation or a protection that cannot be waived.

14. Conditions and emergencies. The Company may change stop order, timing or location for road access, weather, wildlife or safety. A particular sunset, sky, aurora or wildlife sighting is not promised. Booking changes and refunds remain subject to the accepted terms and mandatory law. I authorize appropriate emergency help to be requested and necessary information to be given to responders. I remain responsible only for medical or evacuation costs lawfully payable by me; this Agreement is not travel or medical insurance.

15. Parent or legal guardian: consent for a child

For each child identified below, I confirm that I am a parent or legal guardian authorized to consent to that child's participation. I have read the relevant service description and risks, explained them in an age-appropriate way, disclosed relevant seating and assistance needs, and will supervise the child unless another arrangement is expressly agreed. I consent to the agreed participation and to appropriate emergency assistance being requested.

My consent does not assert that I can surrender a child's non-waivable legal rights or bind the child to an otherwise unenforceable release. It does not remove the Company's own duties. Every adult who also participates signs their own adult release.

Additional children: use a separate, linked child-consent record. A new adult agreement is required when a participant reaches the applicable age of majority.

Participant and signatures

One record for each adult. A parent or guardian completes the child-consent signature if applicable. Do not copy another person's signature, initials or personal details. All fields below are blank in this review specimen.

16. Electronic consent and records

For electronic execution only: I consent to use electronic initials and a signature associated with this exact Agreement as the record of my agreement. I intend that act to authenticate my acceptance. I may request a paper signing option.

The completed record, including the version and recorded acknowledgements, will be made available to me electronically or as a requested paper copy. This preview PDF has no completed signature, authentication certificate or active booking integration.

17. Final signature

Adult participant: I have read all seven pages and completed the seven separate acknowledgements. I understand that page 5 releases certain claims, including negligence claims, subject to its limits. I sign voluntarily for myself.

Child consent, when applicable: My signature below confirms the parent/guardian acknowledgements on page 6 for the child or children identified there. It is not a promise that their protected claims are waived.

Data use: Information is used as reasonably necessary for booking, safety, consent records and claims administration, with access limited to appropriate staff, service providers, emergency responders, insurers or legal advisers as permitted by law. Privacy contact: info@lordofthelakestours.ca. Marketing and promotional photo permission are not granted by signing; any optional consent must be requested separately.