And to those social media users who questioned if it was really that difficult, we’d like to see you try.
Probst gave a truly terrifying account of what these contestants experienced: “It can quickly become a panic situation because you are struggling to get a breath that doesn’t include a mouthful of saltwater. While you are trying to stay above water, the waves swallow you. It can be overwhelming when your fight or flight instinct kicks in. It was a struggle for players and it wasn’t fun. This was hard work, exhaustion and fear.
Probst, to the credit of the contestants, stated that none asked for any help during the event. 22 minutes (!!!) It took them a while to climb the ladders.
But the producers knew that it shouldn’t have taken so long because they did their own practice days earlier—when the waters were no where near as brutal. Probst compared the conditions to a tornado and said, “I don’t exaggerate when I say it was increasing in intensity every five minutes.”