Policies

A Guide to Common Questions and Issues Surrounding Our Trips & Courses

General Guidelines

Our maximum guide-to-client ratio is 6 to 1. Minimum climber age is 4 years old. We have no restrictions regarding maximum age or weight, but we do reserve the right to prevent any client from participating in any activity if we determine the client's safety, or the safety of others, is in jeopardy.

Trip Cancellations

We strongly encourage prospective clients to review our cancellation policies before enrolling in a trip or course. We recommend purchasing trip insurance to avoid losing money in the event of an emergency or a change to your travel plans. Forbes has a great trip insurance search tool for finding the right option for your situation.

Climbing Trips and Courses

Your trip is 100% refundable or transferable up to 30 days prior to departure. Once inside the 30-day window (up to 72 hours in advance), cancellations or date transfers are subject to a 25% administration fee.*

Cancellations within 72 hours of trip departure are non-refundable and non-transferable (excepting rain or air quality, see below). We cannot refund or reschedule your trip inside the cancellation window due to illness or injuries of yourself or members of your group, as we have turned away other clients so we could hold your reservation and run your trip.

Multi-Day Courses

Special limited-enrollment, multi-day courses like AMGA Single Pitch Instructor, Women’s Climbing Weekend, Wilderness First Responder, Teen Climbing Camp, and Adventure Day Camp are non-refundable and non-reschedulable once students have paid their course deposits unless another student is willing to take their spot in class. This includes cancellations due to disrupted travel plans, injury, or illness (including COVID-19). We recommend purchasing trip insurance to protect your tuition investment.

*If we cancel your course due to low enrollment, you may opt to transfer your enrollment to another session or receive a refund of your course fees.

Rain Cancellations

Our clients have myriad opinions on rain; some shrug it off, others really don't like it. Can climbing on a rainy day be enjoyable? Yes. Is wet rock more difficult to climb? Absolutely. Here's the policy:

If the weather forecast calls for greater than a 40% chance of rain within 24 hours of your trip start time, you may reschedule for a different date at no charge or cancel for a 75% refund. If there is not at least a 41% chance of rain, you may not cancel for weather reasons. Rain cancellations or rescheduling must occur at least two hours before scheduled trip departure.

If DLCG cancels your trip for rain or lightning while a trip is in progress, we will reschedule the trip for another date at no additional charge or you may request a 50% refund.

Temperature Cancellations

Climbing in extreme heat or cold poses additional risks to the climbing day. Some folks prioritize climbing over discomfort, while others would rather not.

If the weather forecast calls for a daily high temperatures below 50 degrees or above 95 degrees Farenheit within 24 hours of your trip start time, you and your instructor will make a decision about whether or not to run the trip. Other weather factors such as wind speed, precipitation, and humidity level will factor into the decision.

Clients must request a cancellation or reschedule no later than 5:30 AM the morning of the event. If client does not request a trip cancellation, or chooses to move forward with trip and end the day early, they will not be eligible for a refund.

We reserve the right to cancel the trip under the same conditions, should the instructor feel uncomfortable or unsafe with conditions. If you OR we decide to cancel the trip, you may reschedule for a different date at no charge or receive a 75% refund.

Air Quality Cancellations

If the Baraboo AQI reading is over 150 ppm, or is forecasted to reach over 150 ppm during your trip, at 5 AM the morning of your trip you may opt to reschedule for a different date at no charge or cancel for a 75% refund.

You must share your decision with your lead instructor no later than 5:30 AM the morning of your trip. If you do not make the decision by this time, or choose to move forward with the trip and end the day early, you will not be eligible for a refund. We also reserve the right to cancel the trip under the same conditions, should your instructor feel uncomfortable or unsafe with conditions.

Instructor Cancellations

On rare occasions, we must cancel a trip or course due to an instructor illness or family emergency. In such cases, we endeavor to notify clients as soon as possible, though the nature of illness and personal emergencies often leaves little room for prior notice.

If we cannot find another instructor for your trip, we will refund you immediately OR rescheduled you for another date, at your preference. We do not offer refund for accommodations, travel, or other expenses beyond our immediate control in such situations. Purchasing travel/trip insurance can help you avoid losing money due to such emergencies.

Dog Policy

We don’t allow dogs on climbing trips and courses. Though we love the companionship and joy dogs contribute to any group, there are a few reasons dogs are not compatible with our guided climbing events:

  • Our commercial liability insurance does not cover accidents, injuries or property damage to, or resulting from, our clients’ dogs.

  • Many private climbers bring their dogs climbing with them. These dogs are often off-leash, and many are not trained appropriately for the climbing environment.

  • We try to minimize the risks our staff must manage. Dogs add an additional set of risks to an agenda already filled with physical and emotional risks.

We encourage clients to arrange for quality pet care. There are several quality local options for doggie day care in the area, including the Dog House Resort and Pet Retreat. 

While you can’t bring your dog climbing, you can enjoy a hike with them afterwards. Please see our Devil’s Lake Dog Guide for in-depth info.

We appreciate your respect for and adherence to our pet policy. Thank you!

COVID-19 Policies

In accordance with national and local public health authorities, masks are now optional for our staff and clients. We encourage those at high risk of COVID complications to wear a mask and use social distancing to manage their risk of transmission. If you would like your instructor to wear a mask, please ask (advance notice is helpful).

We ask all clients to report positive COVID tests for 14 days after their trip or course with us. If/when a client reports a positive test result after a DLCG event, we notify all participants and staff so they are aware.

We encourage all clients to seek out a COVID vaccine and booster, as recommended by the Center for Disease control.