Amazing Race 14
Episode One:
Don’t Let The Cheese Hit Me!
The start of the 14th edition of the Amazing Race seemed different from previous editions, and the difference was due to more than the new graphics including a 3-D globe—rather the introduction did not feature the teams arriving as individual teams of two, but rather, the teams traveled to the starting line at the Los Alamitos Army Airfield in a pair of Marine helicopters.
A Little Housekeeping
Before the first summary begins I should address some minor housekeeping points. First, the goal of these summaries is to focus more on the points of interest along the way that the teams typically rush past, rather than getting preoccupied rehashing information easily read on the CBS Amazing Race or other summary Web sites.
So that I can spend more time focusing on those aspects of the Race, I am going to make more estimates about the routes rather than spending too much time on exactly what path a taxi may have taken across town. Instead, I am going to rely for the most part on Google Maps, and ‘as the crow flies’ distances—they are close enough for ‘blog’ work.
The usual disclaimer about the flights and train travel remains the same: obviously, I don’t know the team’s actual date of any movement between two cities or countries. I have to use dates in the future, and therefore the times and costs are likely to be different. If you did a search at Expedia or Travelocity today, you would find a different set of results than I found or even what they allude to on the Race.
My assumption has always been that the Race starts on a weekend, so arbitrarily I pick Saturday morning for the start of the Race, and the first flights are from a Saturday schedule. Subsequent travel days are calculated by offsetting the day of travel by the number of days I think we are away from that starting Saturday.
In the end, three points matter for summary purposes:
1) What would it cost to take a similar route?
2) Approximately how many miles were covered?
3) How long did the travel take?
Finally, I try to make sure that any content I link to is from a reliable site, but I am not responsible if the links are broken, if the sites are evil and try to download malicious software, or do anything else that you didn’t expect. I also am not responsible for any inaccuracies in the summary or linked information. As always, browse safely.
The Teams
It is always some what frustrating to write a lot about the teams early in the Race as you cannot tell who is a contender, and who will be eliminated early. But just for the record, here are the teams and how I will likely refer to them until they self-identify with a better (or worse) nickname:
| Team | Nickname |
| Christy and Jodi | The Flight Attendants |
| Tammy and Victor | The Sibling Lawyers |
| Margie and Luke | The Mom and Son |
| Steve and Linda | The Hillbillies |
| Kisha and Jen | The Sisters |
| Preston and Jennifer | The Arguing Daters |
| Brad and Victoria | The Married Couple |
| Mel and Mike | The Father and Son |
| Amanda and Kris | The Dating Couple |
| Mark and Michael | The Stuntmen |
| Jaime and Cara | The Cheerleaders |
The Starting Line
The Los Alamitos Army Airbase is located in Southern California, and as the Joint Forces Training Base (JFTB) it is the headquarters of the 63rd Regional Support Command (RSC) and the California Army National Guard’s 40th Infantry Division (Mechanized). Additionally the JFTB supports the Marine Corps Reserve (USMCR), the Civil Air Patrol (CAP), the U.S. Army and hosts the State of California’s Office of Emergency Services (OES) complete with satellite communications to command emergency operations in Southern California. It is also interesting that the southeast edge of the airfield is contiguous with the Seal Beach Naval Base Golf Course.
Route Info: Los Alamitos Army Airbase to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
It is approximately 30 miles from the army airbase to LAX, and, based on travelling at approximately 7:00 AM (given on the show) on a Saturday morning (assumption), would be between 30-40 minutes driving time.
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Route Info: LAX to Locarno, Switzerland
As is typical with the start of the Race, teams are told they can take one of two routes to the first Race destination: Locarno, Switzerland. The first route begins by taking a Lufthansa flight to Zurich, Switzerland, and then continuing by train south to Locarno, Switzerland. The second route begins by taking an Air France flight to Milan, Italy, and then traveling by train north to Locarno. Of course the flights leave at different times and the train trips cover different distances, with the shorter train ride appearing to be via Milan, Italy.
The flight attendants, the sibling lawyers, the mom and son, the married couple, the stuntmen and the cheerleaders take the Lufthansa flight, while the others take the Air France flight.
When the show was taped it appears that the Lufthansa flight left LAX at 3:35 PM. On a recent Saturday a similar flight departs at 2:35 PM, arriving in Frankfurt (FRA), Germany at 10:25 AM (the next morning). A connecting flight, 3726, leaves Frankfurt at 12:00 PM and arrives in Zurich (ZRH) at 12:55 PM. The total distance flown is 5,980 miles and takes 13:20 (with connections). The cost is $2,623.30 for one ticket. Once again this summary relies on Expedia, because their Web site is the easiest to work with, and supplies the data I want without having to start a transaction to buy a ticket.
Likewise, it appears that when the show was taped the Air France flight departed at 4:00 PM. On a recent Saturday a similar flight on Air France left LAX at 3:00 PM. Flight 75 arrives in Paris (CDG) France at 10:30 AM (the next day). A connecting flight, 9806 leaves Paris at 11:25 AM and arrives in Milan (MXP) at 1:05 PM. The total distance flown is 6,050 miles and takes 12:10 (with connections). The cost for one ticket on Air France is $2,818.00.
So how about a questimate on the train routes? From the Swiss Rail Web site, it appears that the basic route from Zurich travels south to Zug, Arth-Goldau, Gotthard (Pass), Bellinzona, and then west to Cadenazzo, Riazzino, Gordloa, Tenero, and finally, Locarno. A second class ticket is 57 Swiss Francs ($49 dollars, based on Google's convert function) and a first class ticket is 95 Swiss Francs ($82). This route appears to cover 116 miles and take about 3:00.
The train from Milano is a little bit harder to estimate, as it appears there is special train service from the airport to Milano Centrale station and determining its path through Milan is too time consuming. Starting from Milano Centrale, the first part of the trip travels north to Monza and Seregno and Como S. Giovanni, where a change of trains is required. The first train takes about 0:45. Continuing north, the second train goes through Mendrisio, Lugano, Taverne-Torricella, arriving at Bellinzona where a second transfer is made. The second train takes 1:10. The final train to Locarno parallels the route from Zurich, taking 0:21. So the total train time (less transfers) would be about 2:15, and the train covers approximately 102 miles.
Both routes appear to be incredibly scenic as they traverse the Swiss and Italian Alps, and the following map attempts to show both routes, with additional points being the stations were the trains stop along the way, and are added mostly to keep the lines used to calculate distances from cutting through a mountain or a lake.
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While the Race showed us some great shots of the trains climbing through the mountain valleys, it did not mention the tunnels through the Swiss and Italian Alps. This map shows the basic layout of the Swiss railway system, with the current tunnels. The current tunnel at Gotthard is interesting and it appears it uses several circular tunnels like the spiral tunnel near Field B.C. so that the trains can gain altitude as they climb over the pass. But more interesting is work on the new Gotthard Base Tunnel, which is described here and here.
Route Info: Church of San Antonio, Locarno, Switzerland
The history of Locarno provides the following description of the church where the teams must sign in at the end of the second night of the Race.
“From the west end of Piazza Grande, lanes run up to Via Cittadella and the richly Baroque Chiesa Nuova, decorated with a huge statue of St Christopher outside. Its sumptuously stuccoed ceiling is crawling with detail, featuring gilded scallops and scrollwork, and hosts of fleshy cherubs. The tiny arcaded courtyard, reached through a side door, is a charming, tranquil spot entirely removed from the bustle of the alleys.”
“Following the atmospheric Via di Sant’Antonio brings you to the huge and rather sombre Chiesa di Sant’Antonio, dating from the seventeenth century but rebuilt following a fatal roof collapse in 1863.”
The teams arriving first get the 7:15 AM departures the next morning (the flight attendants, the lawyers, the stuntmen, and mom and son), the teams arriving second get the 7:30 AM departures (the married couple, the dad and son, and the cheerleaders) and the last teams, the latest departure at 7:45 AM (the sisters, both dating couples, and the hillbillies).
Additional information about Locarno is available here.
The teams spend the night in a local campground, Parco Robinson. This map shows the approximate locations of the spots in Locarno. There is some additional information here about Locarno.
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Route Info: Verzasca Dam
Using only a photo of the dam, the teams must make their way by taxi to the dam. A general description of the dam is available at the Tenero e Valle Verzasca Web site, while more information about the dam from an engineering aspect is available at the Swiss Dams, and Structures Data Base Web sites. The following map shows a likely route to the dam, which is about five miles from the Church in Locarno.
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Road Block: Who Has Nerves of Steel?
I don’t think Phil actually said, “A Road Block...” but rather just tells us that “One team member must perform a death-defying leap…” while the caption reads: “70-Story Bungee Jump Road Block” and the “Road Block” icon has been updated. The jump site was featured in GoldenEye, and is run by Trekking Team, which call themselves one of the oldest and most safety-certified outdoor company in Switzerland. For a recent look at what can go wrong bungee jumping, check out what happened recently near Vancouver, WA.
Route Info: Kleine Rugen Wiese, Interlaken, Switzerland
Teams must now make their way by train from Locarno to Interlaken, Switzerland, and find Kleine Rugen Wiese, where they will get their next clue.
Again, there are two basic routes, the first goes through Italy by heading west from Locarno to Domodossa, then heading north (they may have gone through the new Loetschberg tunnel) to Spiez, and then east to Interlaken. Without connections this would take about 5:00 and is approximately 105 miles.
The second route, backtracks to Bellinzona, and Arth-Goldau, before heading west to Luzern, and onto to Interlaken. This route without connections would take about 4:30 and is approximately 134 miles.
This map shows the approximate routes from Locarno to Interlaken.
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As the name implies Interlaken lies in the Swiss Alps, between two lakes, and as this map shows, is surrounded by ski areas. Technically, it is in the Bernese Oberland, which I suppose makes it home to not only cheese and ski areas, but also the Bernese Mountain Dog.
Detour: Join the Local Work Force
Phil doesn’t use the “D” word, but rather we find out that teams must use a pair of traditional antique (which is somehow distinguished from non-traditional antique, or traditional new) cheese racks to carry four cheese wheels (approximately 200 pounds) down from one of the aging sheds to the bottom of the hill.
Rick Steves’ provides a nice description of the cheese making activities in the Bernese Oberland. So one question is why is the cheese on the hill? The answer appears to be because they don’t really bring the cows down from the pastures. A good description of the sharing of the cheese or Käseteilet among the farmers is available at World Radio. I’m guessing that the cheese was an Emmentaler just because it is one of the key cheeses of the area, and is produced in wheels of about the same weight.
The Race typically doesn’t set out to trick or humiliate racers, so I have to think there is some trick to the traditional antique cheese carriers, a pin or something that locks the pieces into place because all but one team had the rack collapse even with a single wheel of cheese—much to the amusement of the the locals.
Route Info: Stechelberg
Teams must now make their way by taxi to the last “postal” bus stop in the town of Stechelberg, a distance of about 10 miles. Once there, the teams had to listen for a group of yodelers, to guide them to the pit stop. Of course, it goes without saying, but we would miss it if Phil did not say: “…the last team to check in here will be eliminated!”
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The first team to arrive at the pit stop are the mom and son, and they win a trip for two from Travelocity to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. The lawyers are second, the stuntmen are third (all three of these teams are very close together). The father and son are team number four, the dating couple are team number five, the married couple are team number six (who did the cheese moving successfully—no mud as Phil has them demonstrate), the cheerleaders are team number seven, the sisters are team number eight, the hillbillies are team number nine, and the last non-eliminated team, team number ten, are the airline attendants.
That means that before they become particularly annoying, the arguing daters are sent packing.