Following instructions from the Mountain’s Keeper, the group turn to the ridge line to see a sillouhetted figure. Sam, The Chaser, has caught them. No sooner than Sam arrives at camp, Jai appears to inform the hikers that Sam will accompany them to their next check point, giving him time to identify his target before stealing their cash and taking their place on the mountain.
On Sam’s last attempt at The Summit, he dubbed himself the most capable and openly targeted weaker players – a strategy that saw his early demise. This year, Sam is determined to play a different game. As soon as Jai leaves camp, Sam begins a charm offensive and tries to learn as much as he can about this new group of hikers. Mat is instantly wary of the newcomer and campaigns to have the group to close ranks, but privately, Charlotte has identified Sam as a potential ally.
Day 8 of the adventure starts with a challenging hike up a steep and rocky ridge line. Sam uses the hike as an opportunity to quietly observe the group dynamics, identifying who leads the group and who trails behind. Charlotte, meanwhile, sets about winning Sam over by subtly feeding him information about his fellow hikers while she reminds him of their names.
At the crest of the ridge line, the hikers are met with a terrifying rope crossing, where each fall will cost the group $20,000. Hoping to restore calm to the group, Mat volunteers to go first. Despite his physical strength and impressive balance, the mountain winds pick up, blowing the ropes out of Mat’s reach. To everyone’s shock, Mat falls, costing the group $20,000 .
Filled with dread after seeing the infallible Mat fall, Charlotte struggles to tackle the obstacle one handed. Determined not to admit defeat, Charlotte draws on the resilience gained from her journey thus far and puts on an impressive display, making it more than halfway before falling. Another $20K down.
Keen to impress Sam, Ava is the first to successfully cross, followed by Phil and Taylor. But the winning streak doesn’t last and Tiffani succumbs to increasingly high winds. Her fall brings the loss tally to $60K.
Sam is unfazed by the heights and high winds but is met by an unexpected challenge that almost sees him lose more than money. As the winds reach over 90 KM/hr, an injured Simmone is unable to make it across. The group’s last hope Trisha takes a slow and steady approach, but is blown off balance at the last minute. As Sam watches the final tally reach a devestating $100,000, he begins to wonder if the group is capable of holding onto their money.
On their descent to their evening’s camp, the hikers brave gale force winds, unaware they’ve only just begun to feel the force of the storm. Midway through their hike, they’re met by a safety officer who ushers them to a helicopter for evacuation off the mountain to a safe camp on the valley floor.
As they arrive at their safe camp on the valley floor, the shell-shocked hikers can scarcely get their bearings before Jai appears with one final surprise: the Mountain’s Keepers want to play a game of duffle bag roulette. One bag will cost them a further $20K, the other will win them back some of the money they lost on the obstacle. An anxious Taylor opens the red duffle to reveal they’ve won back their $80K. The original hikers celebrate their win, but for Sam the victory is hollow. After losing $100K in one go, and facing an indefinite delay, they could all go home empty handed if something doesn’t change. To clear his path to the summit, Sam resolves to cut loose a weaker player.
