Legal

Terms and conditions

Booking and payment

An expedition is confirmed when Zero Bar Expeditions accepts your requested dates and receives the required deposit. Unless your written booking confirmation states otherwise, a 50% deposit is due at booking and the remaining 50% balance is due 14 calendar days before the scheduled departure date.

We accept the payment methods made available during the booking process. A booking confirmation will state the total price, amount paid, remaining balance and scheduled departure date. Prices quoted for a proposed expedition are valid for 7 calendar days unless the written quote states a different expiration date. A quote does not reserve a date until the required deposit has been received and the booking is confirmed in writing.

By submitting payment, the person making the booking confirms that they have reviewed and accepted these Terms and Conditions, the applicable itinerary, and the required liability waiver and assumption-of-risk agreement.

Small-group departure structure: Each booking covers one booking group of 1–4 participants. Expeditions are not sold as exclusive departures. A scheduled departure may include up to three independently booked groups total — your booking group and as many as two other groups that booked the same expedition date. If fewer groups are booked, the departure may operate with fewer groups, but exclusivity is not guaranteed.

Prices shown on the website and booking confirmation are charged per booking group, not per person and not divided among the other booking groups on the departure.

Cancellation by you

All cancellation deadlines are based on the scheduled departure date and California calendar days.

• 15 or more calendar days before departure: You may cancel for a full refund of amounts paid to Zero Bar Expeditions, unless your booking confirmation expressly states a different cancellation term.
• 14 calendar days or less before departure: NO REFUND. All amounts paid are non-refundable and any unpaid balance remains due.
• No-show or missed expedition: NO REFUND. This includes arriving after the required meeting/departure time, missing the departure, failing to appear, or being unable to reach the departure location.
• Late arrival: If a participant arrives after the group has departed, the expedition will continue without that participant and no refund will be provided.

The 14-day no-refund policy applies regardless of the reason for cancellation or non-attendance, including illness, injury, personal emergency, work or family obligations, traffic, vehicle breakdown, flight or transportation delays, weather affecting the participant's travel to the meeting point, or a change in plans. Participants are strongly encouraged to purchase travel insurance that specifically covers their circumstances.

Cancellation requests must be submitted in writing. The cancellation date is the date we receive the written cancellation request. Any refund that is due under these terms will be processed within a reasonable period after the cancellation is confirmed.

Cancellation or change by us

Backcountry conditions can close routes. Flash flooding, wet playa, snow on high passes, fire closures, extreme heat, road closures, government or agency restrictions, and other safety conditions can arise with little warning. Where reasonably possible, we will modify or reroute an expedition while preserving the intended experience.

If Zero Bar Expeditions cancels an expedition before departure because we determine that the expedition cannot safely or lawfully proceed, we will offer either (a) a rescheduled expedition of comparable value, subject to availability, or (b) a refund of amounts paid for services that we do not provide. The customer may choose between those options unless a different remedy is required by applicable law.

If an expedition is cut short after departure because of weather, safety conditions, vehicle or equipment issues, government or agency action, or another circumstance beyond our reasonable control, no partial refund is guaranteed. We will make reasonable efforts to provide an alternative experience or other accommodation when practical, but safety decisions are final.

Nothing in this section limits any refund or other remedy that cannot lawfully be waived. If applicable California Seller of Travel requirements apply to a booking, those requirements control where they conflict with these terms.

Risk

Vehicle-based travel in remote backcountry terrain carries real risk of serious injury, death, or property damage. Hazards include vehicle rollover and collision, extreme heat and cold, flash flooding, unstable ground, wildlife, falling or shifting terrain, remote roads, and distance from medical care measured in hours rather than minutes. Cell service may be unavailable or unreliable on our routes.

All participants must sign a separate liability waiver and assumption-of-risk agreement before departure. Participation is conditioned on completing and accepting that document. The waiver is intended to supplement these Terms and Conditions, not replace them, and should be prepared or reviewed by California counsel before use.

Your responsibilities

• Hold a valid driver's license and be legally permitted to operate a vehicle
• Disclose medical conditions, medications and mobility limits that could affect safety in a remote setting
• Follow guide instructions relating to safety, route and vehicle operation
• Not operate a vehicle while impaired by alcohol, cannabis, or any medication that affects driving

We may end a participant's expedition without refund for conduct that endangers the group.

Insurance

Zero Bar Expeditions maintains insurance required by applicable law, permit conditions and its operating arrangements. Specific policy limits and coverage terms are not incorporated into these Terms and do not create rights for participants beyond the actual terms of the applicable insurance policies.

Travel insurance is strongly recommended for every participant. We particularly recommend coverage for trip cancellation/interruption, transportation delays, personal medical expenses, emergency medical evacuation and situations that could prevent you from reaching the departure location. Participants are responsible for selecting insurance appropriate to their own circumstances. Failure to purchase travel insurance does not create a right to a refund under these Terms.

Vehicle damage

Participants must operate any Zero Bar Expeditions vehicle only as instructed by the guide and only when authorized to drive. A participant may be financially responsible, to the extent permitted by law, for damage caused by that participant's negligent, reckless, intentional, prohibited or unauthorized conduct, including damage caused while driving in violation of guide instructions, these Terms, applicable law, or the required waiver.

Participants are not responsible under these Terms for ordinary wear and tear or damage that is not attributable to their conduct. Any applicable deductible, damage responsibility or vehicle-specific terms will be disclosed in the booking documents or vehicle-use agreement before the participant operates the vehicle.

If a participant brings their own vehicle, the participant is solely responsible for the vehicle's condition, maintenance, fuel, recovery, insurance, registration and lawful operation. Zero Bar Expeditions is not responsible for damage to, theft of, or loss from a participant's personal vehicle except to the extent liability cannot lawfully be excluded.

Governing law

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of California, without regard to conflict-of-law rules. To the extent permitted by law, any court proceeding relating to these Terms or an expedition shall be brought in a California state or federal court having jurisdiction over the dispute and located in the county of Zero Bar Expeditions' principal place of business.

Nothing in these Terms is intended to waive rights or remedies that cannot lawfully be waived under applicable California or federal law. Any arbitration requirement, if adopted, should be stated in a separate, clearly presented provision reviewed by California counsel before use.

Acceptance of these terms

By paying a deposit or other amount for an expedition, the customer acknowledges that they have had an opportunity to review these Terms and Conditions and agrees to be bound by them. The customer is responsible for ensuring that every participant in their group receives and completes all required participant documents before departure.

These Terms should be read together with the customer's booking confirmation, itinerary, required waiver and assumption-of-risk agreement, and any written vehicle-use agreement. If a later written booking document expressly conflicts with these Terms, the more specific provision in that booking document controls only for that booking.