This episode of Endurance: High Sierras begins with a bang, as the teams arrive at the lake for their first Temple mission! The new Gray team (the result of the partner switch that had occurred the day before) was given the Samadhi by the Blue team the previous evening, so they nervously lead the pack to meet JD at the game site. JD informs Darci and Ike that their handicap in this first Temple mission will be to start 20 seconds before everyone else. Gray is well aware that they are the early targets in this game: if they don’t win the mission, they’ll surely be gracing the Temple with their presence that night!

JD explains the challenge: “Walk the Plank.” Each team will send one member to stand on a plank over the water. The other player will hold a rope that keeps the plank parallel to the water, thus keeping their partner from falling in. If the player holding onto the rope lets go and their teammate falls into the water, they are out of the game. The team that manages to stay dry wins the mission, guaranteeing them at least a few more nights in the High Sierras. More importantly, the winners will have the right to send two teams to the Temple of Fate that night, where the first team will be eliminated.

The game begins and Darci walks out onto her plank 20 seconds before the others, as Ike holds onto their rope with all his might. Soon, the other teams join Gray in this serious test of endurance. One by one, the teams begin to drop. First Aric, from the Yellow team, succumbs and his partner, Lilly, plunges into the water. Then Orange player Max lets go, and Kristine takes a spill into the lake. Next, the rope slips from Alex’s hand, and Cealey falls in, eliminating the Green team.

Forty-five minutes into the game, Blue, Red, Purple and Gray are all still clinging on for dear life! JD decides these teams are too good and makes the game even tougher by telling the contestants they can only hold on to their team’s rope with one hand! Connor can no longer endure the pain of hanging on with one arm and is the first person to drop, thus eliminating the Blue team. Next, after giving it everything he has, Ike gives in to the weight of his partner, dropping Darci and ensuring the Gray team’s fate. In the final showdown between Red and Purple, Cameron holds up his partner, Aeriel, and outasts Dakota and Kelsey of the Purple team. Red has won the mission, giving them the power to pick both teams to go to Temple!

Back at the treehouses, Gray talks to Aeriel, who admits that Red will probably send the Gray team to Temple. Later, Aeriel and Cameron discuss who the second team should be. They want to send Yellow, but they both feel bad about it. Then they come up with the perfect plan! They convince Darci’s former teammate, Connor, to tell Yellow about the secret strategy Darci came up with, back when they were teammates, in case they were sent to Temple. Connor obliges and tells the Yellow team that Darci’s strategy is to always pick the same element at the temple. Armed with this information, Red is confident that Yellow will beat Gray and be the team to survive the Temple of Fate. But despite this good-faith effort on Red’s part, Aric is still upset that his friends are going to pick him. He storms off, prompting Aeriel to feel bad and rethink her decision. Once everyone is up at the ridge, JD asks for the Red team’s final decision. They ultimately break down and send Yellow and Gray to the Temple of Fate.

At Temple, the Yellow team picks wood in the first round while Gray picks water, giving Yellow the lead. Yellow then puts the information they received from Connor into action. Predicting that Darci will pick the same element twice in a row, they pick wood again. Sure enough, Darci and Ike pick water. Thus Gray, for the fourth time in five seasons of Endurance, is the first team to exit the game.

Meanwhile, the Yellow team is the first team to survive the Temple. They return to a joyful group that got the outcome they all wanted. But will Red’s sending Yellow to the first Temple be water under the bridge? Will Aric forgive Cameron and Aeriel, or will he seek his revenge? Find out next time on Endurance: High Sierras!

Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 3, Episode 4, Episode 5, Episode 6,
Episode 7, Episode 8, Episode 10, Episode 11, Episode 12, Episode 13, Episode 14, Episode 15