TAR17, Recap Leg 5, 10/24/10

Welcome to Leg 5! Last time, on Let’s Sweden This Up A Little, teams raced from Ghana to Swedish Lapland. There was dog racing and ice sitting, and lots of crashing and clashing. The doctors ended in first, which caused the elimination of Team Glee. Who will be eliminated. . . next? (click for more)

Arrival at the pit stop last episode:
1st – Nat/Kat, Team ER
2nd – Gary/Mallory, The Hillbillies
3rd – Brook/Claire, Team Infomercial
4th – Michael/Kevin, Team Internet
5th – Jill/Thomas, Team Who?
6th – Nick/Vicki, The Geniuses
7th – Chad/Stephanie, Team Neverland
8th – Katie/Rachel, Team Jersey Shore

Riksgränsen, Sweden-Norway Border

6:00 AM Nat/Kat (1st)
Clue: Drive yourselves to Narvik, Norway. Once there, find the gondola station and ride to the top of Fagernesfjellet Mountain to get your next clue.

(Toyouke: “’Make a run for the border’...ha ha...God, so many people I know are too young to get that reference. Sigh.”)

Nat and Kat believe this is good for their friendship.

6:04 AM Gary/Mallory (2nd)
6:05 AM Brok/Claire (3rd) – (Toyouke: “I don't think Brooke can be Zen.”)
6:30 AM Michael/Kevin (4th)
6:48 AM Jill/Thomas (5th) – (Toyouke: “Thomas, seriously? Did you just call your girlfriend stupid on national television because she didn't go to college?”)
7:11 AM Nick/Vicki (6th)
8:12 AM Chad/Stephanie (7th)
8:34 AM Katie/Rachel (8th) – who say they are amazing friends on the Amazing Race. But they trash talk the doctors. (Toyouke: “I get that you hope someone fails a task, but panic attacks are not things to wish on people.”)

Teams drive themselves to the Narvikfjellet in Narvik and arrive in the following order:

1- Nat/Kat
2- Brook/Claire
3- Gary/Mallory
4- Michael/Kevin
5- Jill/Thomas
6- Nick/Vicki
7- Chad/Stephanie
8- Katie/Rachel

Teams take the Narvikfjellet to the top and find the next clue in the following order:

1- Nat/Kat
2- Brook/Claire
3- Gary/Mallory
4- Michael/Kevin
5- Jill/Thomas
6- Nick/Vicki
7- Chad/Stephanie
8- Katie/Rachel

Nat and Kat open their clue and find. . . a Fast Forward! (Toyouke: “Goddamn Fast Forwards, only one per race, bunch of crap. At least they left the eating to an optional task.”)

FAST FORWARD:

Recall (if you can, since we see these so rarely anymore) that a fast forward is a task that can be performed to allow one team to skip all remaining tasks and head directly to the pit stop. However, each team may only use their fast forward power once on the race, so they must decide when it is more advantageous to use it. In this, the only fast forward on this race, (Toyouke: “ONLY ONE FAST FORWARD? WTF IS THAT?!?!?!”) teams must travel to a nearby restaurant and perform a Norweigan Christmas ritual called smalahove, which requires each team member to eat half a sheep’s head. Once complete, they get their next clue and skip all remaining tasks and travel directly to the Pit Stop.

Teams decide to go for the Fast Forward in the following order:

1- Nat/Kat – which keeps them in first place, if they get it. But when they get there, they find that it’s the eating challenge that they’ve dreaded, and it’s meat, which Kat (a vegetarian) hasn’t eaten in 22 years. Kat: “Tastes like a million dollars.” Nat: “It’s probably eyeball.” Kat: “Crunchy!” But they get through it. (Toyouke: “I LOVE the schadenfruede of a vegetarian facing an eating challenge. “Auburnium0513: "'We want to partake'. No you don't." Toyouke: “I'm glad she's trying to eat it, but if she hasn't eaten meat in that long, she's not going to be well afterward.”)
2- Nick/Vicki – who arrive and don’t understand what it means that the “Fast Forward Taken” sign is up. (Toyouke: “You have no clue what that means?!?!?! Taken means TAKEN. How did you graduate from high school?”) Luckily, they leave and move on.

So – eating, Fast Forward for their team. Nat and Kat get their Fast Forward and travel to the PIT STOP at Ankenes Marina. (Toyouke: “OK, I'm impressed with Nat and Kat. I guess they never watch the Amazing Race to know that with SO FEW Fast Forwards the team in first always gets it.”)


The other teams drive themselves to the next route marker, Skjombrua Bridge, and arrive in the following order:

1- Michael/Kevin
2- Gary/Mallory – Mallory: “We should do the Fast Forward!” (Toyouke: “Oh Mallory. You will not love eating sheep's head.”)
3- Brook/Claire
4- Jill/Thomas
5- Nick/Vicki
6- Chad/Stephanie
7- Katie/Rachel

And teams come to the fifth roadblock.

ROADBLOCK:
Strength, Stamina, Guts: you’d better have all three.

In this roadblock, one team member must rappel down the bridge and signal one of two boats. Once on the boats, teams will get their next clue, but they can’t open it until they’ve used a mechanical ascender to rise 130 feet back to the top. Once complete, they can open their next clue.

The following team members complete the Roadblock.

1- Kevin
2- Gary - "My nuts are already getting it". (Toyouke: “Hee. That was a fun moment with two guys who forgot the stress of the race to commiserate in their pain.”)
3- Claire - and Claire is having ascender issues. And Brook is talking. As usual. And Claire tells her to shut up. (Toyouke: "Woo! Shut up Brook!")
4- Thomas – (Toyouke: “Thomas says "Easy and fast". That's what SHE said.”)
5- Vicki
6- Chad
7- Katie

After much rappelling and ascending, teams complete the Roadblock in the following order:

1- Michael/Kevin
2- Gary/Mallory
3- Jill/Thomas
4- Brook/Claire
5- Nick/Vicki
6- Chad/Stephanie
7- Katie/Rachel

Teams are then instructed to drive themselves to Harvika Field to get their next clue.

So, teams arrive at the field in the following order:

1- Michael/Kevin
2- Jill/Thomas
3- Gary/Mallory
4- Brook/Claire
5- Nick/Vicki
6- Chad/Stephanie
7- Katie/Rachel

And we get the Detour Clue.

DETOUR:
Bike OR Boat
*Bike: Teams must choose a pair of mountain bikes, being sure to remember the color of their bike lock. Once they ride the marked course, they must memorize their combination which is color coded on a sign at the end of the path. Teams return to the bike locks and unlock them to get their next clue.
*Boat: Teams make their way to a fish trawler and use a map to direct the captain to shore. Once their, they disembark with two cod and a chainsaw and deliver it to a summer lodge to get their next clue.

(Toyouke: “This is a weird Detour choice. Although I do love the nautical tootling.”)

1-Michael/Kevin choose Boat
2-Jill/Thomas choose Bike – (Toyouke: “Well I'm glad they remembered what color to look for.”)
3-Gary/Mallory choose Bike
4-Brook/Claire choose Boat – Claire: "We're pretty girls, I want a manicure, hee" (Toyouke: “Shut up.”)
5-Nick/Vicki choose Bike
6-Chad/Stephanie choose Boat
7-Katie/Rachel choose Boat

Teams complete the detour in the following order:

1- Jill/Thomas
2- Gary/Mallory
3- Michael/Kevin – (Toyouke: “Kevin, hijacking the directions! That's a good idea, just seeing where the guy points and taking off first.”)
4- Brook/Claire
5- Nick/Vicki
6- Chad/Stephanie
7- Katie/Rachel – and the volleyball girls pray to God. (God: “"Ehhh...I don't like volleyball.")

Teams get their clue and find that they must drive themselves to Ankenes Marina, the PIT STOP of the fifth leg of this racearoundtheworld. The last team to arrive MAY be eliminated!

1- Nat/Kat
2- Gary/Mallory – (Toyouke: “Oo, Phil eyebrow pop. Hee!”)
3- Jill/Thomas
4- Michael/Kevin
5- Brook/Claire – (Toyouke: “OMG there is NOTHING wrong with her eye. NOTHING. She's not gushing blood, she's not mortally wounded.” Auburnium0513: “Is it bad that I'm kind of glad she got hurt?")
6- Nick/Vicki
7- Chad/Stephanie
8- Katie/Rachel

And Katie and Rachel are eliminated. . . yeah. At least I don’t have to keep track of who’s who anymore.

ORDER NOW:
1st – Nat/Kat
2nd – Gary/Mallory
3rd – Jill/Thomas
4th – Michael/Kevin
5th – Brook/Claire
6th – Nick/Vicki
7th – Chad/Stephanie

Next week: Teams travel to Russia. Look, cinema! And Babushkas! (Toyouke: “In other words, next week: cavalcade of nonsense.”) Until next time!