CBS’s newest reality competition show The Summit has now aired three episodes. I’ve watched them all… and I’m firmly convinced that this show makes no sense.

The premise? A group of 16 Americans is transported to New Zealand and told that they have 14 days to reach the summit of that big mountain over yonder. The contestants all look shocked and awed.

Big question right off the bat: What did they think they’d be doing? Seriously, I want to know — they all auditioned for a show… knowing what? I think the fact that they’re expected to climb a mountain is pretty crucial.

The rules of the show are explained in small bits and pieces, but what we (and presumably, the contestants) know at the start is as follows: They’ll be ascending the mountain as a group. They’re each carrying 1/16th of one million dollars — in cash — in their backpacks. If they reach the summit by the 14th day, they keep the money. If they don’t reach it, or if they arrive late, they get nothing. And if someone quits (which, as we learn in the first episode, includes medical evacuation), their share of the money goes with them.

It therefore seems in everyone’s best interest to make sure everyone succeeds, right?

Clearly, not everyone is prepared for this adventure. There are a few strong, outdoorsy, athletic types, but also some less fit folks who’ve never hiked or had an outdoor adventure before. A group of moms bond quickly, a few bros seem to break out early, and some out-of-shape people struggle from the beginning.

The group is also warned before they start their trek that the “mountain’s keeper” will be watching. It’s made to sound vaguely mumbo-jumbo-ish — no one has any idea what this means.

Pretty much from the first step, certain players are already scheming, and it’s not clear why. Why are some players looking for divisions and trying to create alliances? Nothing we’ve heard so far indicates that that’s necessary. Aren’t they all just trying to reach the top? Doesn’t it make sense to support one another and root for the entire team to succeed?

Almost immediately, there’s trouble. The initial walk, even without an ascent, is harder than it looks, and there are slower people at the back of the pack who are chatting and acting like they’re out for a stroll. As soon as they start the first ascent, it’s clear that many of these people aren’t really up for this. It’s a struggle, and certain players need a lot of help, with one even giving their backpack to a stronger climber just to make it up the hill.

A major obstacle lies in wait — a difficult rope bridge that must be crossed in pairs. As the duos go across, the Mountain’s Keeper* shows up. This turns out to be a black helicopter with tinted windows, so it appears to be otherworldly in some way — we never catch a glimpse of people flying the thing. It hovers over the landing spot on the far side of the bridge and drops a bag with instructions: The group is behind where they need to be to make it to their first checkpoint before nightfall, and they have a choice. They can help the last player across (who happens the be the oldest and least fit player, and is also solo because one person has already been medivac’d out), or they can choose to leave him, save the time it would take to bring him across, and hopefully pick up the pace.

The group votes to bring the player across, in a show of empathy that may come back to bite them, and they don’t make the checkpoint. The show’s host meets them on the mountain to inform them — in a scolding/disappointed tone — that they’re out of time for the day and must make a “bivvy camp” — sleeping outdoors, no tents, and with just the dried food in their packs. What’s more, he reminds them, it’s only day one, and they’re already behind. At this rate, they won’t reach the summit in 14 days.

*The Mountain’s Keeper is a weird and creepy concept. Sometimes, it shows up to drop a bag with instructions and tools to carry out a task, but sometimes is just comes to hover menacingly. When someone with a fear of heights is struggling up a flimsy rope hanging from a cliff, the Mountain’s Keeper flies up near him and is just there, until that person gets moving again.

The group struggles on the next day, eventually reaching their first checkpoint — a much nicer camp, with pre-built all-weather tents, a fire, and plenty of delicious food and drinks. They’re all excited, but the host — continuing his role as party-pooper-deluxe — arrives to explain that everything has a cost, including the checkpoints. At each checkpoint along the climb, the group must decide to send one person off the mountain (i.e., vote them out) and “steal” their money. The person who gets voted out must cede the money from their backpack, which then gets divided up amongst the remaining players and added to the stash they’re carrying.

Okay… so keeping in mind that the goal is to reach the summit within 14 days or they all get nothing, as well as the endless reminders that they’re already behind where they should be, wouldn’t it make sense to start cutting the slowest players? The group has to stay together — it would make no difference if the most fit people forged on ahead and reached the summit early. They either make it as a group, or they all fail.

But no, apparently my logic isn’t the group’s logic. Instead, this becomes a game of alliances, just like every other reality competition on TV. Let’s break up the people who are loyal to each other! Let’s cut someone whose negativity is annoying! And in a later episode, let’s cut one of the strongest people because… reasons?

By the 3rd checkpoint and vote-out, the group has clearly split into factions, and there’s a lot of talk about getting out the big dogs, the ones who are strongest and tend to take the lead. But why? The 3rd person voted out had just done an excellent job of reading the map (different people take the leader role each day, with varying levels of success and/or getting the group lost) — but apparently doing a good job as leader made him a target. Again, why? Isn’t it in the group’s best interest to keep the capable people, who help the entire group succeed?

Apparently the logic in taking out the stronger people is that the weaker folks want to target the strong folks first, to keep the strong folks from picking off the weaker folks one by one. Okay… but if you’re left with the people who are struggling to keep up and who hold the pace back, how will they ever reach the summit?

There’s also the awkwardness of the voting process itself. No secret ballots on The Summit — the host shows up, sits with everyone around the campfire, and asks what names have been coming up. Once a couple of names have been mentioned, he asks people to raise their hands if they want person A voted out, then raise your hands if you want person B to be gone. That’s it. It’s public, and the only people up for votes are those whose names get mentioned in that moment. There isn’t an option for a quiet sub-group to sneak in another candidate, and with the voting done by show of hands, it makes it unlikely that people would be willing to stick their necks out or not go along once they see which way the majority is trending.

Beyond the craziness of the alliance/vote-out system, there’s the overall sense that this show has a very questionable approach to safety. First of all, I don’t think people who are not prepared, trained, or in condition for a climb should be climbing. I can only imagine real-life mountaineers tearing out their hair while watching this show.

Second, a decision-point came up that I found shocking, and I’m guessing this type of scenario will continue to pop up in one form or another. At one point, the Mountain’s Keeper dropped another bag, this time with an offer (as well as a scolding). The group is behind yet again. They can choose to send two people (presumably, the slowest) by helicopter to the next camping point, while the rest continue to hike and hopefully make up a bit of time. There’s a price, of course: If they choose this option, the group will have no food that night. Two people (the rational ones, in my opinion) vote against this option: They’ve burning through calories like crazy, and they can’t risk giving up food. But everyone else votes to send the two slowest by helicopter, and seem to feel the others lack empathy, which will definitely be held against them.

So why am I shocked? Because this isn’t safe! You have a group of 12 people (? maybe ? — I’ve lost count by this point) who need to get up the next day and hike another 5 – 10 miles over harsh, steep terrain before getting any more food. How are they supposed to have the strength to do that? The climb is dangerous enough as is, and now they’re supposed to do it in a weakened state? Who approved this nonsense? This isn’t Survivor, where players (a) know in advance that starving is part of the game, (b) are in a relatively safe setting and (c) have instant medical care available. Sure, The Summit has cameras and crew alongside the players, so we can assume medical staff as well — but how does that help if a hungry player gets dizzy, keels over, and tumbles down the mountain?

Ugh. I’m annoyed now that I’ve watching three 90-minute episodes of this nonsense. Sure, a part of me is curious to see what happens next… but it’s also so ridiculous a premise that I don’t think I can actually stand to watch a moment more.

I started watching The Summit with no prior knowledge, simply based on having seen the promos and the fact that it airs right after Survivor. After watching these three episodes, I was curious to see if there were any reviews out there, and in Googling the show, discovered that this was originally an Australian TV show that’s aired two seasons so far. There’s also a British version in development, and apparently a Norwegian version was shut down mid-production after one contestant suffered cardiac arrest and died during the filming.

Reading more about the Australian seasons gives me a pretty good idea of how the rest of this American season will go, and reinforces my inclination to just give it up. The scheming and manipulation don’t sit well with me. Before I started the show, I was drawn to the idea of seeing people rise to meet the physical and emotional challenges of the climb — but as it’s playing out, it’s just one more reality competition show about alliances and blindsides. Even with an awesome mountain as the goal, too much of this feels like a “been there, done that” setup. I don’t think I’ll give it any more of my time.

Want to know more? I couldn’t find a ton of reviews from newspapers or entertainment outlets, which leads me to guess that most just didn’t think it was worth bothering with. Here’s the review from USA Today — which I read after writing this post, but we happen to be very much aligned!

Tell me — is anyone else watching The Summit? Does anyone have another perspective to share?