Will This AAC Member Be the “Last One Standing?”
October 2007Corey Rennell tries kick fighting in Nagaland, India.
Corey Rennell, an AAC member from Alaska, now a senior at Harvard University, took a year off from school to shoot a 12-part reality-TV series called “Last One Standing.” This BBC-produced program began airing on the Discovery Channel on October 4. (Check local listings.) The idea is to pit six U.S. and British athletes against each other in tribal games, while learning about indigenous cultures.
Rennell spent 14 months traveling around the world, wrestling in Brazil, stick fighting in South Africa, and canoe racing in Vanuatu, among other challenges. The website for the new show, described as “Full Contact Culture,” says of the 22-year-old Rennell: “Physically he’s by far the best endurance athlete on the team, and he wears his intelligence on his sleeve. But when it comes to strength events, he might face difficulties.”
Readers will have to tune in to see how Rennell fares. Meanwhile, the AAC asked him a few questions about his experiences:
What’s your climbing background?
I didn't become obsessed with climbing until I joined the Harvard Mountaineering Club in college. With David Roberts coming to regular meetings and Brad Washburn dropping in from time to time to show off some perfect new unclimbed route, it was hard to not be inspired. My most memorable time in the HMC was joining the HMC 80th Anniversary Borkoldoy Expedition with legends Lucas Laursen, Bjarne Holmes, and George Brewster, spending a month putting up nine new first ascents in the Kyrgyz Tien Shan.
Do you think your climbing experience helped you in the show in any way?
Believe it or not, I think my mountaineering experience actually hurt me! Sure I was comfortable with pushing myself to my physical limits and leaving the pleasures of home for the wilderness, but boy was I not prepared for the heat! Spending so much time in cold conditions left me ill-prepared for the double 100s (temp and humidity) of tropical athletics.
What next? Are you headed back to finish school or is something else on your plate?
Spending 14 months living with tribes really took it out of me, so I've returned to cherish my last year at college of all-you-can-eat dining halls, free beer, and no commitments but to expand my mind. Despite my current enjoyment of life's easier treasures, I'm quickly being talked into a second-ascent attempt of the Wickersham Wall for next summer. Can't escape from climbing for long!