March 11

[Nancy Dooley]

The French Alps? I would be scared to death, literally. I love the cold,
But not ever, ever, heights. Damn.

N.

[Michael Urban]

Post by Nancy Dooley
The French Alps? I would be scared to death, literally. I love the cold,
But not ever, ever, heights. Damn.

OK, the camera crew and editors outdid themselves on this one, in glorious
high definition. Sure, they spent more time showing us the scenery
than the racers (well, more than usual), but I was enthralled the whole
time. Magnificent work.

Hiatus for a few weeks, then back to "Whoa, camel, whoa!"

[shawn]

Post by Michael Urban

Post by Nancy Dooley
The French Alps? I would be scared to death, literally. I love the cold,
But not ever, ever, heights. Damn.

OK, the camera crew and editors outdid themselves on this one, in glorious
high definition. Sure, they spent more time showing us the scenery
than the racers (well, more than usual), but I was enthralled the whole
time. Magnificent work.

That they did but too many of the people that I watch with couldn't
deal with it due to the all the shots that clearly made it obvious how
high they were. I have to admit that one section where it appeared
they had to drop down three to four feet while still attached to the
rope but with that severe drop off just a few feet away bothered me. I
can deal with the heights but having to make that sort of move on
snow/ice wouldn't make me feel safe.

Post by Michael Urban
Hiatus for a few weeks, then back to "Whoa, camel, whoa!"

Yeah, I know people love March Madness but I'll be glad when it is
over.

[UCLAN]

I can deal with the heights but having to make that sort of move on
snow/ice wouldn't make me feel safe.

"I'm not afraid of heights. I just have a HUGE amount of respect for
gravity." - UCLAN 2014

[Nancy Dooley]

Good point, UCLAN.

And I agree about the production crew and camera work.

N.

[Karen M]

Post by UCLAN

I can deal with the heights but having to make that sort of move on
snow/ice wouldn't make me feel safe.

"I'm not afraid of heights. I just have a HUGE amount of respect for
gravity." - UCLAN 2014

I don't have a problem with heights either; it's smashing into the ground that has the potential to cause some serious injury.


Karen

[Loren Pechtel]

Post by shawn
That they did but too many of the people that I watch with couldn't
deal with it due to the all the shots that clearly made it obvious how
high they were. I have to admit that one section where it appeared
they had to drop down three to four feet while still attached to the
rope but with that severe drop off just a few feet away bothered me. I
can deal with the heights but having to make that sort of move on
snow/ice wouldn't make me feel safe.

They were roped in, it wasn't dangerous.

[shawn]

On Sat, 12 Mar 2016 19:19:11 -0800, Loren Pechtel

Post by Loren Pechtel

Post by shawn
That they did but too many of the people that I watch with couldn't
deal with it due to the all the shots that clearly made it obvious how
high they were. I have to admit that one section where it appeared
they had to drop down three to four feet while still attached to the
rope but with that severe drop off just a few feet away bothered me. I
can deal with the heights but having to make that sort of move on
snow/ice wouldn't make me feel safe.

They were roped in, it wasn't dangerous.

Yes, I know they were roped in, but in that one section they had to
drop about 3-4 feet with that sudden drop off. So even though I know
it is safe I still would not feel safe making that move. I would do it
but I know I wouldn't feel good about it.

[Questor]

Post by Loren Pechtel

Post by shawn
That they did but too many of the people that I watch with couldn't
deal with it due to the all the shots that clearly made it obvious how
high they were. I have to admit that one section where it appeared
they had to drop down three to four feet while still attached to the
rope but with that severe drop off just a few feet away bothered me. I
can deal with the heights but having to make that sort of move on
snow/ice wouldn't make me feel safe.

They were roped in, it wasn't dangerous.

In high-altitude mountaineering, and mountaineering in general, "dangerous"
is a relative term. Yes, they were roped in, and probably anchored with
extra protection. Still, stuff happens... protection fails. Just about every
rock climber I know has had a "flying lesson" at some point.

[Loren Pechtel]

Post by Michael Urban

Post by Nancy Dooley
The French Alps? I would be scared to death, literally. I love the cold,
But not ever, ever, heights. Damn.

OK, the camera crew and editors outdid themselves on this one, in glorious
high definition. Sure, they spent more time showing us the scenery
than the racers (well, more than usual), but I was enthralled the whole
time. Magnificent work.

Yeah, beautiful scenery. The racers are so bundled up that they're
hard to tell apart.

Could have done without the fake dynamite bit, though.

[Questor]

Post by Michael Urban

Post by Nancy Dooley
The French Alps? I would be scared to death, literally. I love the cold,
But not ever, ever, heights. Damn.

OK, the camera crew and editors outdid themselves on this one, in glorious
high definition. Sure, they spent more time showing us the scenery
than the racers (well, more than usual), but I was enthralled the whole
time. Magnificent work.

In recent seasons the producers do seem to be trying stage some tasks
that rate as "spectacular" instead of simply "amazing"... hard to say if
this parasail in the Alps is beats last year's ultralight flight over Victoria
Falls, but it is certainly one of the leading contenders. I, too, was thrilled
by the scenery this episode. Great stuff.

[Questor]

Post by Nancy Dooley
The French Alps? I would be scared to death, literally. I love the cold,
But not ever, ever, heights. Damn.

Fun facts:

FAA regulations require pilots to use supplemental oxygen when flying in an
unpressurized cabin above 10,000 feet. FAA regulations require all passengers
to be supplied with supplemental oxygen when flying in an unpressurized cabin
above 15,000 feet. The summit of Mont Blanc is 15,776 feet.

I think the upper terminus of the gondola taken by the racers is at about 13,000
feet. The air pressure at that altitude is about 60% of that at sea level,
meaning each breath contains correspondingly less oxygen. It's near certain
that all of the racers experienced some difficulty with their tasks due to
oxygen deprivation, in addition to being cold and slipping in the snow. It
would have been interesting to have them perform a moderately complex
mental challange and note if they seemed impaired. Some of the early symptoms
of insufficient oxygen include giddiness and the appearance of intoxication.

As they were not acclimated to the altitude, if the racers stayed overnight at
that height they would have been at risk of suffering the effects of
high-altitude pulmonary edema, which may include death.

[Nancy Dooley]

I was amazed that...once again...at least one team has one member who is terrified
of heights. In every recent season, it seems there has been at least one task that
involves heights to some degree. Anyone who gets a panic attack at the thought of
being up high should not try for TAR, IMO.

N.

[Questor]

Post by Nancy Dooley
I was amazed that...once again...at least one team has one member who is terrified
of heights. In every recent season, it seems there has been at least one task that
involves heights to some degree. Anyone who gets a panic attack at the thought of
being up high should not try for TAR, IMO.

Every season, I'd say. If it's not the Tyrolean traverse that we saw, it's a
wire walk between two high buildings, a rappel down a tall tower, a bungee
jump, or a sky dive. The rides on ultra-light aircraft, parasails, and window
washer's scaffolds may also scare some people.

The other ability that is frequently useful on TAR is that of being able to eat
large quantities of food that would likely be unappetizing to American palates.
I'm not a fan of the "gross food" tasks, so I'm glad we don't see these every
season.

[Michael Urban]

Post by Questor
The other ability that is frequently useful on TAR is that of being able to eat
large quantities of food that would likely be unappetizing to American palates.
I'm not a fan of the "gross food" tasks, so I'm glad we don't see these every
season.

One of my favorite moments was on Amazing Race Asia, when they had to
eat 'stinky tofu', which slowed some teams down. But not Team Hong Kong:
the guys just chowed down and blitzed through the task. As they left
with the clue, one of them says more or less to the camera, "Hey, we're
Chinese! We eat everything!"

[Loren Pechtel]

On Sun, 13 Mar 2016 19:02:26 -0700 (PDT), Nancy Dooley

Post by Nancy Dooley
I was amazed that...once again...at least one team has one member who is terrified
of heights. In every recent season, it seems there has been at least one task that
involves heights to some degree. Anyone who gets a panic attack at the thought of
being up high should not try for TAR, IMO.

I think they figure they can overcome their fears.

We also tend to have a non-swimmer and there's normally some sort of
water task.

[Karen M]

Post by Questor
As they were not acclimated to the altitude, if the racers stayed overnight at
that height they would have been at risk of suffering the effects of
high-altitude pulmonary edema, which may include death.

Eh, HAPE is technically possible but highly unlikely at only 13,000 ft especially since they weren't there all that long--HAPE is more common after a couple days at altitude, but it's still not very common.

I've been to the Mont Blanc summit. Rode the cable cars. All we did was wander around admiring the cloud cover and then have some hot cocoa but I don't remember having any problems with the altitude.

Karen

[Questor]

Post by Karen M

Post by Questor
As they were not acclimated to the altitude, if the racers stayed overnight at
that height they would have been at risk of suffering the effects of
high-altitude pulmonary edema, which may include death.

Eh, HAPE is technically possible but highly unlikely at only 13,000 ft
especially since they weren't there all that long--HAPE is more common after a
couple days at altitude, but it's still not very common.

Note I said "at risk." Yes, it's not a certainty, and yes, it's unlikely at
13,000 feet. However, it is still not known why some people, including very fit
climbers, are more susceptible to HAPE than others, or how to predict who
might and who might not be affected. The only treatment is to immediately
evacuate the victim to a lower altitude.

[Loren Pechtel]

On Mon, 14 Mar 2016 23:12:12 -0700 (PDT), Karen M

Post by Karen M
I've been to the Mont Blanc summit. Rode the cable cars. All we did was wander around admiring the cloud cover and then have some hot cocoa but I don't remember having any problems with the altitude.

In my experience wandering around wouldn't be enough to notice it.

There was once it really surprised me, though--we had been walking on
a plateau at about 15,000'. Other than the strong and cold wind none
of us felt the altitude. However, after some miles there was a gentle
rise to the hut we would be sleeping in--wow! That gentle rise that
none of us would have paid any mind to down low suddenly needed quite
an effort to climb.

Two of the women were so bushed by it that they flopped down on the
steps--big mistake. The sun is brutal at those altitudes but it's
cold enough you don't feel it.

[Loren Pechtel]

Post by Questor

Post by Nancy Dooley
The French Alps? I would be scared to death, literally. I love the cold,
But not ever, ever, heights. Damn.

FAA regulations require pilots to use supplemental oxygen when flying in an
unpressurized cabin above 10,000 feet. FAA regulations require all passengers
to be supplied with supplemental oxygen when flying in an unpressurized cabin
above 15,000 feet. The summit of Mont Blanc is 15,776 feet.
I think the upper terminus of the gondola taken by the racers is at about 13,000
feet. The air pressure at that altitude is about 60% of that at sea level,
meaning each breath contains correspondingly less oxygen. It's near certain
that all of the racers experienced some difficulty with their tasks due to
oxygen deprivation, in addition to being cold and slipping in the snow. It
would have been interesting to have them perform a moderately complex
mental challange and note if they seemed impaired. Some of the early symptoms
of insufficient oxygen include giddiness and the appearance of intoxication.
As they were not acclimated to the altitude, if the racers stayed overnight at
that height they would have been at risk of suffering the effects of
high-altitude pulmonary edema, which may include death.

They didn't stay at those altitudes, though.

I do agree that physical activity that high up takes more out of you
but I haven't noticed any mental effects--and I've been as high as
18,000, albeit with a few days to acclimate.