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A commercial break later, Wynona explains that after 24 years together, Chuck should know that his acting that way isn’t “egging me on but pissing me off.” What a dumb Chuck.

On the opposite end of the pleasant spectrum, Mona & Beth are in awe of the Swiss mountains and don’t do the Colorado tourism board any favors by saying, “We’re from Colorado and we have mountains that are beautiful… but NOTHING like this.” It is nice to see people appreciate the setting and the opportunity they have to see parts of the world that we, the average viewer, will never see.

At the hotel, they select a St. Bernard to accompany them on the train to “Europe’s highest railway station” Jungfraujoch. Once there, they have to deliver their hound to a guide and then search for their next clue on The Sphinx. These dogs, for the most part, are the most cooperative animals on any Amazing Race task, with the exception of Caroline & Jennifer’s dog. They would probably still be hanging out at the station if Anthony hadn’t come out and basically picked the dog up and put her on board.

Now we are treated to a montage of loving interactions between the teams and their dogs, which allows the producers to highlight again the growing tension between Chuck & Wynona. Ms. Mullet points out that he is giving more attention to the dog than her. Of course, Chuck retorts, “Well, the dog can run faster.” All of these snide comments seem to be laying the groundwork for a Mullet-elimination this leg.

With no issue finding the person who is claiming their dog, or no issue finding the clue, we are nearly 20 minutes into the episode and STILL all six teams are clumped together because they haven’t actually performed a challenge yet. It may be too early but I am close to declaring this one of the most boring legs in the show’s history.

And with the opening of the Roadblock clue, the show just got exponentially more interesting. This Roadblock has one team member go out an observation spot on the face of the Eiger Mountain. They will then have to traverse a section of the edge to retrieve a gnome (for a company I won’t give free advertisement for) with the clue on the bottom. Even more interesting is that of all the tasks for Wynona to choose, she goes with this one because she’s only done three to Chuck’s five. This could be a fatal Race mistake. The lady is having a hard enough time walking in the high altitude and thin air. I can’t imagine that it will be easier when she is suspended off of a mountain.

Everyone’s back on the train and heading to the Eiger.

At the two spots on the observation windows, Katie and Bates are first in line with the others not-so-eagerly waiting their turn. Jennifer, in particular, makes the mistake of looking out the window and must just wait. The anticipation is killing her.

Despite an admitted apprehension of the height, Bates blazes through the task and secures his gnome. Once safely back inside the mountain, they read that they must take the train back to Grindelwald Grund, cross a bridge and find a guy auditioning for a Ricola commercial. Ok, that last part is just my interpretation. The guy is just playing the giant horn, exactly like the ones in a Ricola commercial.

The brothers are now at the train drop-off and waiting but expecting at least a few teams to catch up. Katie has finally retrieved her gnome and does something shocking – she recognizes the sheer fear in Wynona and offers words of encouragement. She doesn’t lie about it being scary but tells her that she can do it. This has to be welcomed by Wynona, who is understandably frustrated at Chuck’s comments and snarkiness this leg.

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