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MCA FORM 4: Acknowledgement of Risk and Contract, Waiver, Release and Indemnification (Page 2 of 4) Ice is constantly falling and can cause injury if you are hit. Other objects may fall and hit you due to thawing or being knocked down by the ice or other climbers. Avalanches are often a threat in the mountains. An avalanche is snow and ice that has released from the mountain and is moving down the mountainside. If you are trapped in an avalanche you can be injured or suffocated by the avalanche or trapped in the avalanche, which may kill you. The avalanche debris may force you into a collision with other immovable objects, which might injure or kill you or you may be forced into a crevasse or over a cliff. Glacier travel is always dangerous. Crossing crevasses or walking over snow bridges covering a crevasse can lead to a fall into a crevasse. Falling into a crevasse can cause injuries due to the fall or objects hitting you during and after your fall. You may also be injured while stopping in the bottom or wedging into the sides. Once in a crevasse you will be subject to cold and hypothermia. Another aspect of glacier travel to be aware of is the danger from seracs, large blocks of ice or snow you may need to walk near or around. Many times while crossing glaciers or hiking in the mountains, you will be in an area where seracs or ice can fall, injuring or killing you. You may trek and climb at altitudes to which you will not be accustomed. Altitude sickness is the term used to describe the effects on a human body at altitudes higher than the person is accustomed to. Altitude sickness is usually associated with nausea, headaches and a loss of appetite. Altitude sickness can lead to conditions that may result in death. You must understand that the mountaineering expedition in which you are about to participate includes a high degree of risk of hypothermia. High Altitude Pulmonary Edema (HAPE) and High Altitude Cerebral Edema (HACE) occur when you are at altitudes and have not acclimated properly. HAPE and HACE can be fatal if not recognized and treated quickly. Hypothermia is the name for a medical condition where the core body temperature drops to a point that the body is unable to maintain and heat itself. Hypothermia can quickly result in death. Medical care, as you understand it, may not be available outside Canada or the United States. You may be hours or days travel by water, porter, animal or other non-vehicular transportation from any medical facility. The medical facility you may be treated in may not have the same standards as hospitals or doctor's offices in Canada and the United States. The medical personnel you will be treated by may not have the same training as medical personnel in Canada and the U.S. You will be subject to bacteria, viruses and diseases, which are rare or unknown in Canada and the U.S. You will need to be vigilant in your normal daily habits such as eating, hand-washing and bodily functions in order to not introduce dangerous bacteria, virus and diseases into your system. Decisions are made by the MCA staff and Participants on a high altitude expedition based on a variety of perceptions and evaluations, which by their nature are imprecise and subject to errors in judgment. Participant understands and agrees to abide by these decisions. However, the Participant must exercise their own ability and thought in keeping safe and secure, and is solely liable for their safety and that absent direction from MCA it is his or her decision to travel, return home or descend at any time. Throughout the trip, Participant is responsible for his or her own safety and for the safety of other members of their expedition. Participant agrees to adhere to all decisions made by the employees, contractors, guides, owners and members of MCA at all times. Participant understands that those decisions may be based on many factors, including the overall safety of the group. Participant understands and agrees to those decisions, which are in fact the way most professionally conducted high-altitude expeditions operate. There is a high level of stress and anxiety while undertaking any mountaineering expedition. In addition you may encounter or see sights, which may disturb you. It is also possible that some participants will suffer mental anguish or trauma from the experience or their injuries. This list is not an exclusive or exhaustive list of possible risks, injuries, trauma, or accidents that may occur while mountaineering. Most of these injuries are rare and you are not likely to encounter them, however they have occurred and you need to know about them, as well as other possible injuries not mentioned above. Some injuries occur more often when the participants are using illegal drugs or alcohol or are not physically able to undertake the expedition, so the use of illegal drugs or alcohol will not be permitted on the trip while engaged in climbing or mountaineering. |