Trip Insurance Information

Why Trip Insurance Matters

Mountain adventures come with a lot of moving parts. Weather, travel logistics, health, and unpredictable conditions. Trip insurance protects your investment if unexpected events prevent you from joining a program, or if something happens during your trip that requires evacuation or medical attention.

Even the most well-planned expedition can face unexpected challenges. Trip insurance ensures you’re covered so that you can focus on your experience, not the “what ifs.”

What Trip Insurance Covers

While policies vary, most adventure travel insurance options include protection for:

1. Trip Cancellation & Interruption

  • Illness, injury, or family emergency preventing participation

  • Flight cancellations, weather delays, or lost baggage that cause missed trip starts

  • Unexpected work obligations or personal emergencies

2. Medical & Emergency Evacuation

  • Coverage for illness or injury that occurs during the trip

  • Air or ground evacuation from remote mountain areas

  • Hospital and treatment costs if injured while traveling

3. Travel Delays & Lost Baggage

  • Reimbursement for delayed flights, lost luggage, or missed connections

4. COVID-19 Coverage (Depending on Provider)

  • Some policies include coverage for illness, quarantine, or trip interruption related to COVID-19

Coverage for Guided Programs

Since Sierra Nevada Backcountry Guides operates in remote and high-elevation terrain, we strongly recommend that guests purchase a comprehensive adventure travel insurance policy that includes:

  1. Trip cancellation/interruption

  2. Medical and evacuation coverage of at least $100,000 USD

  3. Adventure sports coverage make sure your policy covers mountaineering, backcountry skiing, and climbing.

  4. Rescue and evacuation from remote mountain areas (sometimes called “Search and Rescue” coverage)

Popular Trip Insurance Providers

We do not sell or profit from insurance, but these are reputable companies frequently used by our guests:

  • Global Rescue – Excellent evacuation and medical services, global coverage for high-altitude and technical trips.

  • Travel Guard – Customizable trip cancellation and interruption plans.

  • World Nomads – Adventure-focused travel insurance covering climbing, skiing, and snowboarding.

  • Ripcord Rescue Travel Insurance – Great for expeditions and international trips, including helicopter evacuation.

Things to Check Before Purchasing

Before committing to a policy, read the fine print and confirm that:

  1. Backcountry skiing, splitboarding, and mountaineering are covered activities.
    Some standard travel insurance excludes technical or guided outdoor sports.

  2. The policy includes medical evacuation to your home country or preferred hospital.

  3. Trip cancellation/interruption coverage includes illness, injury, flight delays, and other realistic causes.

  4. Policy coverage dates match your program’s travel window (including pre- and post-trip travel days).

  5. Pre-existing conditions are either covered or disclosed — depending on the policy.

When to Purchase

Trip insurance is most effective when purchased soon after your initial trip deposit — usually within 14 days — because that allows you to qualify for full “Cancel for Any Reason” or pre-existing condition waivers.

Waiting until the last minute can limit what’s covered.