Guided Trips

Admin, Policies, & Fine Print

Andrew Skurka Adventures LLC is a Colorado-based company.

Trip cancellations

Each season, about 20 percent of applicants must cancel after signing up for a trip and submitting a payment. To protect you against this scenario, we strongly recommend the purchase of travel insurance like from Travel Guard or similar, especially if you are on a more expensive trip, if you must fly to the destination, and/or if you are managing elevated elevated health-related risks.

Travel insurance will protect you against the most common cause for cancellations that we see: an illness, injury, or death of you, a family member, traveling companion, or business partner. In the 2024 season, 39 percent were due to personal health issues and 10 percent involved someone close.

About one-third of 2024 cancellations were due to personal or work conflicts. Please be fully committed to and cleared for your trip when you sign up and submit a payment.

If we must postpone or cancel a trip

When scheduling our trips, we consider the seasonal and geographic risks of wildfire, wildfire smoke, flash floods, frozen landing areas, and lingering spring snowpack.

Past trips have been affected by these conditions, and the exact circumstances are different each time. As we are making decisions, we will communicate transparently with clients and we will prioritize the safety of our clients and guides. We ask that you be flexible and understanding as we try to work through the situation — it’s not a stress or factor that we want to be managing, either.

As a general rule, trips will take place as scheduled unless one of the following conditions is met:

  1. Areas, roads, and trailheads that are critical to our operations are closed, and reasonable alternatives not available; or,
  2. The air quality index (AQI) at representative nearby monitoring station average 150+ for the week prior to the trip AND the conditions are not expected to change based on fire management projections or weather forecasts.

Before cancelling a location or trip outright, efforts will be made to relocate our operations. These efforts by be limited by the availability of permits (commercial and wilderness) and the logistical complexities.

Representative air quality monitoring stations include:

Covid protocols

Very few pandemic-era safeguards remain in 2025, but Covid is still with us. In the 2023 and 2024 seasons, it came up in most locations, so we still feel the need to have a policy about Covid and other respiratory diseases.

  • In the two weeks before your trip, to the degree possible limit your exposure to others.
  • If you must fly, wear a N95 mask. You’ll probably be the odd one out, but this will reduce transmission risk from other passengers on the plane.
  • If you carpool with group members that are not in your household, consider testing beforehand so that you don’t get infected (or infect them). Or, at least have a conversation about your relative exposure risks.
  • If you feel ill before your trip, it’d be very poor expedition behavior to join the group anyway. If you are sick, it’s difficult to enjoy yourself or to perform at the expected level, and you may infect others in the group. So, stay home, and file a travel insurance claim.
  • At the trailhead and in our first aid kids, we have Covid tests and N95 masks, for anyone who looks, sounds, or feels ill. If you test positive at the trailhead, you’re not going on the trip. If you test positive in the field, we’ll distance you from the group and consider our options.

Commercial permitting

Last updated November 7, 2024

For the 2025 season, we have been approved for commercial operations in:

  • Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument (backpacking and canyoneering)
  • Monongahela National Forest

For 2025 we will apply (or have applied) for commercial permits with the agencies below. These permits must be renewed each year or every two years, and permits are not normally approved until early-spring.

  • Bridger-Teton National Forest
  • Glen Canyon National Recreation Area (backpacking and canyoneering)
  • Gates of the Arctic National Park
  • Inyo National Forest
  • North Slope Borough
  • Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Park
  • Stanislaus National Forest
  • West Virginia Department of Natural Resources
  • Yellowstone National Park
  • Yosemite National Park

Medical Certifications

All guides must be currently certified in (at a minimum):

  • Wilderness First Aid (WFA)
  • CPR
  • Leave No Trace Awareness

Required Forms

Before participating in any guided trip, clients must complete two forms, linked below. Both forms will be requested during the planning curriculum, and it will be done electronically.

Nondiscrimination

Andrew Skurka Adventures LLC is an equal opportunity employer.

In accordance with Federal law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, disability, and reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity.  (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.)

Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication for program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language, etc.) should contact the responsible State or local Agency that administers the program or USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339.  Additionally, program information is also available in languages other than English.

To file a complaint alleging discrimination, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, AD-3027, found online at http://www.ascr.usda.gov/complaint_filing_cust.html, or at any USDA office or write a letter addressed to USDA and provided in the letter all of the information requested in the form.  To request a copy of the complaint form, call (866) 632-9992.  Submit your completed form or letter to USDA by: (a) mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; (b) fax: (202) 690-7442; or (c) email: [email protected].

USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.

Privacy Policy

Andrew Skurka Adventures LLC will not sell or share your information for commercial purposes.

In the event of an injury, medical information you have provided will be shared with the appropriate medical personnel who are providing care.