Spring bursts

Spring is a busy season for wild animals, especially bears, who emerge from their winter slumber in search of calories after this period of inactivity. (Although there are milder winters when food is abundant).

Bears then consume the fragile shoots of early spring grasses, which are richer in protein and easier to digest.

Bears graze in the sunniest clearings between April and June. They also forage for tender grasses and leaves in the steep, confined channels of limestone crags.

For many species, it’s also calving time. In the case of bears, cubs are born in late January or early February, but it’s in spring that they first emerge from the den and begin to explore the outside world.

From May onwards, the rut begins and the bears scour the valleys in search of mates. This gives rise to an exciting scenario in which a multitude of individuals can be observed (13 bears observed on one day at the end of May 2022!).

This is also the time of independence for the young bears in their second year.

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SUMMER
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General terms of use and booking

1. Provider and scope

North Mountain is the trading name of Romain Guerin, who provides guided nature observation and photography outings, particularly focused on the Cantabrian brown bear, in Somiedo, Asturias, Spain. Address: Centro de empresas, Calle Rafael Rey López, 9A, 33840 Pola de Somiedo, Asturias, Spain. NIF/NIE tax number: Y8625476F. Tourism registration: TA-391-AS. Contact: contact@northmountain.eu; +34 600 297 224.

These terms govern northmountain.eu and bookings for outings on specified dates. They supplement the offer description and booking summary. Undated gift vouchers, books, photographs and bespoke services require suitable additional terms.

2. Service and wildlife

The service is professional guiding in a natural environment. The programme, duration, meeting point, inclusions and restrictions are described before booking. The website advertises 8 hours of activity per standard day. Timings and observation locations may be adapted to natural conditions without changing the essential characteristics of the service.

Animals live freely in the wild: no sighting, proximity, photograph or photographic result is guaranteed. The absence of animals, where the agreed service has been properly delivered, does not itself entitle the customer to a refund. Rights concerning an undelivered or non-conforming service remain unaffected.

3. Booking

The customer selects available dates and participants and provides contact details. Several dates, including non-consecutive dates, may be booked. Standard capacity is four participants per day, subject to the availability offered. Displaying a date or completing the form does not guarantee a place.

Before payment, the customer checks and can correct dates, participants, details and the total price. The customer accepts these terms and expressly confirms an order with an obligation to pay. In the immediate-payment process, the booking is confirmed after payment. A declined or interrupted payment is not confirmation.

Confirmation is provided by email on a durable medium, including dates, participants, price, services and applicable terms. If a charge appears without confirmation, contact North Mountain before trying again. Direct bookings are documented in writing with confirmation and payment arrangements.

4. Prices and payment

Prices are in euros, including VAT. Rates may decrease with the number of days. The calculation rule and total are shown before payment; a discount is not inferred solely from whether dates are consecutive. The accepted price applies; unaccepted surcharges are not added.

Only expressly stated items are included. Transport, equipment, meals and accommodation must be specified in the offer. Stripe processes online payments. Full payment is due at the time of booking. The amount and payment methods are shown before confirmation. Any other method requires prior written agreement. An invoice is provided as required by applicable law.

5. Customer cancellation and changes

Cancellation may be requested by email to contact@northmountain.eu or by phone on +34 600 297 224. Written notice is recommended to retain evidence of the request date. North Mountain confirms its handling in writing.

The cancellation period is calculated from receipt of the request to the scheduled start time of the outing, using local time in Asturias:
- At least 7 days (168 hours) before the start: a full refund of the price of the cancelled service.
- Less than 7 days but more than 48 hours before the start: 50% of that price is retained and the remaining 50% is refunded.
- 48 hours or less before the start: 100% of that price is retained, with no refund.
No refund is made in the event of a no-show without prior cancellation.

For partial cancellations, the affected dates or participants are identified in writing. The cancellation period and amount retained are calculated separately for each cancelled outing, based on the share of the price paid for the affected dates and participants, after discounts applied at booking. No recalculation that was not disclosed and accepted before booking is applied retrospectively.

Any refund due is made within 14 calendar days of receipt of the cancellation request, using the same payment method as the booking. The customer's mandatory legal rights remain unaffected.

A date or participant change depends on availability and participation requirements. New dates and price adjustments are proposed in writing and take effect after customer agreement. Without agreement, the original booking remains applicable unless cancellation is requested. Mandatory legal rights are preserved.

6. Cancellation or interruption by the guide

North Mountain may adapt, postpone, cancel or interrupt an outing for safety, closures or access restrictions, dangerous weather, illness or unavailability of the guide, or another inability to provide the service. The customer is informed as soon as possible. Weather merely unfavourable for photography does not necessarily require cancellation.

If North Mountain cancels before the start, the customer chooses an agreed postponement or a full refund for the cancelled service. A credit or postponement is not imposed. If part of the service cannot be provided, an appropriate solution or refund for that part is offered, with a written calculation. Dates in a multiple-date booking are assessed separately. These provisions do not remove legal compensation rights or generally exclude liability or associated expenses.

7. Withdrawal

Subject to their legal classification, outings with a specified date or period fall within the leisure activity exception in Article 103(l) of Spain's Real Decreto Legislativo 1/2007. The fourteen-day withdrawal right for distance contracts therefore does not apply to these dated outings; the contractual cancellation policy remains applicable. The exception is not automatically extended to undated gift vouchers or other products.

8. Participation and safety

Participants wear footwear and clothing suitable for mountain conditions and the weather and follow the guide's instructions. Mobility, accessibility or safety limitations should be discussed before booking without providing more health data than necessary. Minors and age restrictions are governed by the offer and the guide's prior agreement.

Feeding, attracting, pursuing or disturbing animals, leaving waste and entering prohibited areas are forbidden. Park rules and safe distances must be respected. The guide may stop dangerous participation, explaining the decision; financial consequences depend on the circumstances and law, without automatic loss of all payments. Late customers should inform the guide; an extension at the group's expense is not guaranteed.

9. Liability and insurance

North Mountain delivers the service with the required professional care and appropriate safety measures. Natural risks cannot be completely removed, without releasing the provider from its obligations. Participants look after their belongings and follow instructions. Liability is assessed on the facts and law; no general rights waiver, exclusion of personal injury or contractual liability cap is imposed.

Insurer: Catalana Occidente. Accident policy: 8-11-172-428-V. Public liability policy: 8-10-525-901-F. Travel, accommodation, personal cancellations and photographic equipment are not necessarily covered.

10. Website, content and image rights

The website is used lawfully, without intrusion, fraud or disruption. Text and photographs are protected; reuse beyond legally permitted uses requires permission. Viewing the site does not authorise commercial exploitation of its content.

Booking does not authorise North Mountain's promotional use of identifiable participant images: separate appropriate agreement is required. Participants respect other people's image and privacy rights when photographing them.

11. Personal data

The data controller is Romain Guerin, trading as North Mountain, Centro de empresas, Calle Rafael Rey López, 9A, 33840 Pola de Somiedo, Asturias, Spain, contactable at contact@northmountain.eu. Data needed for enquiries and bookings is processed for pre-contractual steps and contract performance; billing and accounting data responds to legal duties. Promotional uses or sensitive data require a separate suitable legal basis.

Only people and providers who need the data to deliver their services have access. Stripe processes online payments and may process certain data for its own legal obligations and fraud prevention. Google is used to manage the booking calendar. Hostinger hosts the website.

Depending on the services and infrastructure used, data may be processed outside the European Economic Area. Any such transfer must be covered by an adequacy decision or appropriate safeguards, including the European Commission's standard contractual clauses.

Data is retained for as long as necessary to handle the enquiry and maintain the customer relationship. Once that relationship ends, only data needed for accounting and tax obligations or the defence of rights is retained for the statutory periods, with restricted access, and then deleted or anonymised. Erasure may be requested at contact@northmountain.eu, subject to legal obligations. This clause does not replace a full policy.

Where the law provides, individuals may request access, correction, erasure, restriction, portability or objection and withdraw consent without retrospective effect. Complaints may be made to the AEPD, www.aepd.es, or the competent authority. Information is available when data is collected; non-essential cookies are managed separately from acceptance of these terms.

12. Complaints, law and languages

Complaints may be sent to North Mountain by email to contact@northmountain.eu or by post to Centro de empresas, Calle Rafael Rey López, 9A, 33840 Pola de Somiedo, Asturias, Spain, stating the booking reference and relevant facts.

The official complaint forms ("hojas de reclamaciones") applicable to the activity in the Principality of Asturias are made available to customers free of charge on request at this address. A request may also be sent to contact@northmountain.eu for information on how to obtain the official form. This process does not limit the right to contact the competent authorities or courts directly.

These terms and conditions are governed by Spanish law. In the event of a dispute, and unless mandatory provisions provide otherwise, the courts of North Mountain's registered office shall have jurisdiction. If the customer acts as a consumer residing in another member state of the European Union, they retain the protection of the mandatory provisions of their country of residence.

FR, ES and EN must convey the same terms without reducing rights by language. Discrepancies are clarified under consumer law. Changes apply to future bookings; the accepted version is retained and remains applicable to the relevant booking.