Terms of Service

Risk & Responsibility

Outward Bound Costa Rica (OBCR) has taken reasonable steps to provide you with appropriate equipment and skilled instructors so you can enjoy an activity for which you may not be skilled. Certain risks cannot be eliminated without destroying the unique character of our activities. The same elements that contribute to the unique character of these activities can be causes of loss or damage to your equipment, accidental injury, illness, or in extreme cases, permanent trauma or death. We do not want to frighten you or reduce your enthusiasm for your participation, but we do think it is important for you to be informed of the inherent risks.

You are going to participate in activities higher in risk than most people encounter in their daily routine. During the course, your instructor will frequently discuss with you the important rules of wilderness safety and train you in the proper use of equipment, safety systems and procedures. Following those instructions and exercising common sense drastically reduces your risk. It is impossible to eliminate all hazards or to guarantee against all risks. As a member of an adventure group, you must promote personal responsibility for your own safety and the safety of the other participants on your course by following instructions, acting prudently, and exercising good judgment.

As a participant on any OBCR course, you may, but are not limited to, participation in the following activities: transportation to and from course area by bus, van, jeep, truck or other means; cooking over gas stoves or open fires; eating food prepared by local villagers; sleeping in the outdoors, at the homes of villagers or in improvised shelters; drinking water treated with iodine, boiled/filtered, or untreated; carrying your own gear and equipment needed by your crew; hiking across rugged terrain, scrambling, balancing and climbing over rocks and along precipitous trails; crossing turbulent streams; performing daily strenuous activity for long periods of time; being exposed to rain, lightning, heat, cold, dryness, high altitudes, rock slides, falling rocks, falling trees; living among trees, insects, wild plants and animals and possible natural hazards, risks and dangers inherent in wilderness environments. You will also be in remote areas, at times hours away from hospitals or other emergency medical facilities. Your instructor, certified in WFR (Wilderness First Response), CPR and/or Wilderness Advanced First Aid, and equipped with an expedition first aid kit, will be your care provider in the field and will make decisions about the need for emergency evacuations should the situation arise. On some courses, you may participate in a solo reflection exercise where you will camp in a designated area for three to seventy-two hours with periodic check-ins by instructors. You may also rock climb up steep rock/tree faces and rappel down cliffs from as high as 200ft. During the whitewater rafting portions of your course, you may paddle much of the day, be exposed to several major rapids and encounter powerful currents and river hydraulics. You may engage in a sea or river based course, also with inherent risks. You may Scuba dive to depths and use protocols developed by the National Association of Underwater Instructors (NAUI). Other activities include sea turtle conservations, surfing, boogie/wakeboarding, and sports, as well as intercultural experiences.

I understand that while OBCR has undertaken reasonable and advanced steps to lessen the risk of COVID-19 transmission while on course, OBCR is not responsible for any risks related to COVID-19. I understand that the World Health Organization has classified the COVID-19 outbreak as a pandemic. I further understand that COVID-19 is a highly contagious and dangerous disease, and that contact with the virus may result in significant personal injury or death. I am fully aware that participation in the course (including any related travel) carries with it certain inherent risks related to COVID-19 transmission that cannot be eliminated regardless of the care taken to avoid such risks. Further, I understand that the risks of COVID-19 are not fully understood, and that contact with, or transmission of, COVID-19 may result in risks including but not limited to loss, personal injury, sickness, death, damage, and expense. OBCR may, at my cost, arrange or supply medical treatment, evacuation, any other emergency services, or mandate an isolation or quarantine period on my behalf as OBCR deems necessary or appropriate for my safety and well-being.

All the above activities have inherent risks including but not limited to burns, falls, bites, broken bones, dislocations, contusions, sprains, spinal injuries, concussions, drowning, sunburn, disease, infections, dehydration and other trauma.

Release of Liability & Acknowledgement of Risk

I have read the description of activities and risks contained herein and am aware that adventure travel includes many risks and dangers, including, but not limited to, the hazards of traveling by raft, air, horse, oxcart, jeep, bus, van, power boat, on foot or by other unconventional means, accident or illness in remote places without advanced medical facilities, dangers of wild animals, forces of nature, extreme weather conditions, physical exertion for which I may not be prepared, and evacuation difficulties, should I be injured or disabled.

I am aware of these and other inherent risks of the course and I accept them and for my participation on this course. In full recognition of the foregoing and in consideration of being granted an acceptance for my participation in an OBCR course under the auspices of OUTWARD BOUND COSTA RICA (OBCR) legally known as Fundación Costa Rica Rainforest Outward Bound School, a private non-profit foundation in the country of Costa Rica, its agents, associates, assigns, employees, officers, licensees, contractors, course chaperones and successors in interest (hereafter OBCR), I hereby agree as follows: I HEREBY RELEASE, WAIVE, INDEMNIFY, AND AGREE NOT TO SUE OBCR for all or any liability to me, my personal representatives, heirs, assigns and next of kin, for any and all losses, damages or injuries or any claim or demand on account of any injury to my person or property, or on account of my death resulting from any cause while I am participating in a OBCR expedition/course.

I FURTHER AGREE that if I am injured or become ill, OBCR may, at my cost, arrange or supply medical treatment, evacuation or any other emergency services on my behalf as OBCR deems necessary or appropriate for my safety and well-being.

I EXPRESSLY ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT ADVENTURE TRAVEL INCLUDING THE OBCR COURSE IN WHICH I AM PARTICIPATING is not without risk of bodily injury, property damage or death and that I intend the waiver and release of OBCR to be as broad and inclusive as permitted by law; that I am not relying on any oral, written representation of OBCR regarding safety, and that I am entering this agreement of my own free will.