Online Rental Policies
*These policies do not apply to client rentals on courses that meet at the Bellingham AAI shop or for Denali clients. For questions regarding those rentals, please contact the shop.
*THESE POLICIES ONLY APPLY TO OUR WINTER RENTALS
RESERVATIONS
Please reserve your gear as far in advance of your trip as you can, especially those who are on courses with us. We would hate for you to miss a trip because we don’t have the gear you need in stock. Reserving early will give us the opportunity to call around town to see what we can find if we happen to be out of gear in your size. If you are hoping to have your rentals adjusted and ready for pick up when you arrive, please make your reservation at least 2 days in advance.
START DATE
Please select your start date as the day that you are planning on picking up your equipment, not the day that you are starting your trip. Your equipment will be ready for pick up in our After Hours Trailer starting at 12am on your start date*. If you select the day that your outing begins, your equipment may not be ready in time for your departure. Please do not select Saturday or Sunday as the start date for your rental. If you wish to pick up your gear over the weekend, select Friday as your start date.
*For Splitboard and Ski Package rentals, if you do not know or forget to enter your information necessary for us to make the proper adjustments to your gear, we will not be able to put your gear in the After Hours Trailer. This means that you must come in and pick your gear up during business hours (10am-6pm).
RETURN DATE
This is the day you must drop your gear off with us, which may not necessarily be the day that your trip ends. Your equipment is expected to be dropped off by 11:59 pm (either in store or in our After Hours Trailer) on the day your rental ends.
LENGTH OF RENTAL
Our rental systems have been put in place to align with the summer courses we run, however it often does not make sense to think of your rental period in terms of days when you are not on a course with us. Instead, when selecting the length of your rental, think of the “days” in terms of “nights” (e.g. the 1 Day rental option is our overnight rental option, the 2-3 Day rental option allows you to have the gear out for 2-3 nights).
Note: If you are planning an outing on Saturday or Sunday, please select the 2-3 Day option, even if you only plan on using the gear for a single day.
BE ON TIME
We rent out our gear knowing that you will return your gear by your return date. If for some reason you are unable to get your gear back on time, you will be charged for any missed reservations after yours.
DAMAGED GEAR
All of us over at AAI have spent our fair share of time in the mountains and know how the backcountry has a tendency to cause wear and tear on some gear. However, we know that taking proper care of your gear can greatly extend its lifespan. Please treat your gear as if it were your own. This being said, if your gear is damaged upon return, depending on the magnitude and nature of the damage, we may charge you for repairs we have to make to your gear once it is returned to us. If you’re wondering how often we charge for repairs, the answer is not often. If you happen to crampon yourself while walking in rented hardshell pants, we get it, we’ve all been there. However, if you choose to cook dinner in your tent and end up with a hole in the fly, this will be something we charge you for.
LOST GEAR
As soon as you walk out of the store with our gear, it becomes your responsibility. If you are unable to return our gear, we will charge you for the item (usually we can get these below retail price, so we will only charge you what it costs us to replace it).
CANCELLATION POLICY
Please let us know at least 3 days in advance if you need to cancel your rental reservation. If you are able to let us know at least 3 days in advance, we can get you a full refund on your reservation. If you are unable to let us know 3 days in advance, we cannot promise a refund on your reservation. That being said, give us a call, and depending on the circumstances, we will see what we can do.
TRY BEFORE YOU BUY!
Click here to learn more about applying the cost of your rentals towards the purchase of an equivalent item in our store!
If you have a question that doesn't seem to get answered on this page, shoot us a call at 360-671-1570 or email at shop@alpineinstitute.com and we will do our darndest to get you taken care of!