The nitty gritty.
Lessons Info & Policies
Applicable to all Mountain School experiences:
Booking Policies
- Advance reservations and payment in full is required for all lessons to guarantee availability.
- Lift tickets are required in addition to Mountain School programs unless otherwise noted.
- We cannot guarantee accommodation for late arrivals.
- Private Lessons begin on November 30, 2023, conditions permitting.
- All Group Lessons for Kids and Adults begin on December 16, 2023 and end on April 14, 2024, conditions permitting.
- Due to the unique quality of our resort location, there are times when the road up Little Cottonwood Canyon(SR-210) and/or lift access is delayed due to avalanche danger. In these cases, we monitor the situation closely and send programs out as soon as there is staff available and conditions warrant. Circumstances change with each situation and therefore it is important for guests to communicate with our staff. If lessons are missed due to these extreme circumstances, we will make every effort to accommodate our guests.
Cancellation Policies
- Changes or cancellations to Group or Private Lessons can be made up to 48 hours prior to the lesson. Every effort will be made to reschedule the lesson. Changes or cancellation requests within 48 hours will receive no refunds or date changes.
- Cancellation of our Weekly Programs and Specialty Camps is required a minimum of 30 days in advance and is subject to a $30 processing fee. Cancellations within 30 days are non-refundable.
- All date changes are subject to availability.
- All refunds, date changes and other lesson updates will incur a $30 processing fee.
- Session changes to multi-week programs must be made 2 weeks in advance, will incur a $30 processing fee and are subject to program availability. There are no make-ups, refunds or adjustments for missed days during a scheduled session.
- Refunds are not available due to weather and/or snow conditions or for children who are unwilling to participate or become ill after being in our care 1 hour past the start of their lesson.
- Pre-season bookings at discounted rates are non-refundable except if covered above.
- No-Shows (any lesson not changed as stated previously) will be forfeited.
- Daily program and private bookings expire at the end of the season. There are no refunds or credits given for lessons not taken.
Satisfaction Policy
- Please let us know immediately if you are not satisfied with your lesson so that we may address your concerns.
Unauthorized Guiding/Teaching
- Snowbird is permitted by the U.S. Forest Service and maintains exclusive rights to offer ski and snowboard instruction within Snowbird’s permit area. Purchasing unauthorized instruction or guiding services at Snowbird violates, among other laws, Utah Code 76-6-409. For the safety and well-being of our guests and in fairness to our staff, Snowbird will not tolerate any unauthorized teaching, instruction or guiding. Any persons suspected of violating these laws and ordinances will be referred to Snowbird Public Safety, County Sheriff and/or the U.S. Forest Service.
Parent Guide
Mountain School Contact Form
Guiding Info & Policies
Applicable to all Snowbird Mountain Guide experiences:
Cancellation Policies
- Cancellations made by guests more than 30 days prior to your reservation date will receive a refund.
- Cancellations made by guests within 30 days prior will receive a full refund, less a $50 per person processing fee for Snowcat Skiing and a $600 processing fee for private groups.
- Cancellations made by guests within 7 days or less are non-refundable for Guided Backcountry Skiing, Snowshoe Tours and Avalanche Education.
- Snowbird reserves the right to cancel any reservation due to conditions beyond our control. If Snowbird cancels for any reason, you will have the option to reschedule or receive a full refund.
Helicopter Skiing Policies
Applicable to all helicopter skiing trips–operated by Powderbird–in Utah.
No Fly Days Due to Weather
- On weather days when it is not safe to fly, Powderbird will provide a guided day at Snowbird for the cost of the deposit. A Powderbird guided day includes:
- All-day pass with VIP Tram & lift line access
- A guide for half the day
- Buffet style breakfast & lunch served in the heliport lounge
- Ski-in/ski-out access to our heliport which offers secure gear storage
- Designated parking at the heliport
- Same timeline as fly day, with lunch at the heliport at 1 pm
- If the guest chooses to opt out of our weather-day alternative, they will forfeit their deposit. If they choose to reschedule, their deposit will apply to the new booking date within 1 calendar year from the original reservation date.
Weight Policy
- Guests whose weight is over 225 pounds are required to purchase a second seat that will be left empty to counterbalance the weight. This policy is in place to be in accordance with FAA regulations.
Fly-Ins
- We reserve the right to fly in a guest for any of the following reasons:
- Guest poses a risk to themselves or others
- Guest is negatively impacting other guests' experience
- Guest is not able to keep up with the pace of the group
- If a guest is flown in, they are responsible for the full cost of the day.
Helicopter Skiing Single Day Info & Policies
Applicable to Single Day heli-skiing experiences:
Single Day Payments
- Reservations made more than 30 days before the reserved fly day require a deposit to complete the booking.
- Individual Single Day Deposit: $400 + tax Private Group
- Single Day Deposit: $3200 + tax
- Reservations made within 30 days of the reserved fly day require full payment at the time of the booking.
Single Day Cancellations
- Cancellations made more than 30 days before the reserved fly day are fully refundable.
- Cancellations made within 30 days to 2 days of the reserved fly day will result in the loss of the deposit.
- Cancellations made within 48 hours of the reserved fly day are non-refundable for the full payment (total cost of fly day including tax).
- Guests may reschedule reservations within 1 year of the original reservation date. No refunds are provided on rescheduled reservations.
Flight Delays & Weather Shortened Days
- With an average of 500" of annual snowfall in Little Cottonwood Canyon, our teams closely monitor changing conditions when it comes to avalanche conditions and weather. We always wait as long as we can to see if conditions will allow us to operate; this means trips may have delays or be cancelled day of. On days in which Powderbird experiences departure delays, you are responsible for your reservation until Noon and you will receive a partial refund based on the type of heli-skiing trip you booked. Refunds will be processed in 5 business days.
- Single Day Individual: On shortened days, you will be refunded $200 for the runs (out of 6) you did not receive.
- Single Day Private Group: On shortened days, you will be charged a minimum of $6,000 for the flight and a pro-rated amount for each additional Hobbs hour that the helicopter is able to fly.
Additional Runs & Flight Time
- Single Day: An additional $299 per person will be charged for each additional run taken.
- Private Group: Any additional flight time above the initial 2 hours of prepaid flight time will be billed at a rate of $6,000 per additional flight hour, billable by the 10th of an hour.
Helicopter Skiing Multi-Day Info & Policies
Applicable to Multi-Day heli-skiing experiences:
Multi-Day Payments
- Multi-Day Helicopter Skiing Packages require full payment at the time of the booking.
Multi-Day Package Cancellations
- Cancellations made more than 30 days before the arrival date are fully refundable. Cancellations made within 30 to 15 days prior to the arrival date are refundable for 50% of the total trip balance. Cancellations made within 14 days of the arrival date are non-refundable for the full payment.
- Early departures are considered cancellations and are non-refundable.
- Guests may reschedule their trip to a different date, more than 30 days before their arrival date. The guest is responsible for the difference in price of helicopter skiing and lodging rates based on the new dates selected. Trip insurance is highly recommended for situations out of your control. Travel Guard is our suggested travel insurance provider.
Multi-Day Money Back
- In the case that we cannot fly due to weather, Multi-Day guests will receive money back from each day that heli-skiing is not provided and be able to take part in the Powderbird guided day at Snowbird.
- The non-refundable deposit covers daily breakfast, lunch, a Snowbird lift ticket, ski demos and lift line-cutting access at Snowbird.
- With an average of 500" of annual snowfall in Little Cottonwood Canyon, our teams closely monitor changing conditions when it comes to avalanche conditions and weather. We always wait as long as we can to see if conditions will allow us to operate; this means trips may have delays on designated heli-skiing days. In the case of a delay, guests will receive a partial refund based on the Multi-Day trip booked. Refunds will be processed in 5 business days.
- Multi-Day Individual: On shortened days, guests will be refunded $200 for the runs (out of 6) they did not receive.
- Multi-Day Private Group: On shortened days, guests will be charged a minimum of $6,000 for the flight and a pro-rated amount for each additional Hobbs hour that the helicopter is able to fly.
Additional Runs & Flight Time
- Single Day: An additional $299 per person will be charged for each additional run taken.
- Private Group: Any additional flight time above the initial 2 hours of prepaid flight time will be billed at a rate of $6,000 per additional flight hour, billable by the 10th of an hour.
International Trip Payment & Cancellation
Applicable to international heli-skiing experiences:
International Trip Payments
- Reservations made more than 90 days prior to the trip start date are accepted with a 50% non-refundable deposit due at the time of booking. The remaining balance is due 90 days prior to the trip start date.
- Reservations made within 90 days of the trip start date require full payment at the time of the booking.
International Trip Cancellations
- Cancellations made more than 90 days prior to the first day of the trip result in the loss of the deposit (50% of the trip cost).
- Cancellations made within 90 days of the first day of the trip are fully non-refundable.
- Due to the high fixed costs of this expedition-style trip, we are unable to provide any refund in the event of weather or provider-caused conditions that prevent us from using our guaranteed helicopter hours.
- Trip insurance is highly recommended for situations out of your control. Travel Guard is our suggested travel insurance provider.
- Trips need a minimum of 6 guests to operate international trips.