Get a Grip (also known as I Love You, Pole) is a recurring endurance challenge that originated in Survivor: Vanuatu and has since been used in several later seasons.
Rules[]
The castaways must hang onto a pole for as long as they can. They may not hold on to the top of the pole to support themselves, but must instead rely on footholds. The last person left holding on without touching the ground wins.
History[]
United States[]
This challenge debuted in Vanuatu as the final eight Immunity Challenge. Played in the middle of a drizzle that made the poles slippery, Twila Tanner ultimately outlasted Chad Crittenden after an unspecified amount of time to win immunity.
The challenge was again used as the first individual Immunity Challenge in Cook Islands after the merge. After 2 hours and 15 minutes and a heavy storm settling in partway through the challenge, Ozzy Lusth ultimately outlasted Candice Woodcock to win immunity.
In Tocantins, this challenge was once again the first individual Immunity Challenge after the merge. Tyson Apostol ultimately outlasted Debbie Beebe after over thirty minutes to win immunity.
In Heroes vs. Villains, the challenge was again the first post-merge Immunity Challenge. After over 1 hour and 35 minutes, the last Hero, Candice Woodcock, inexplicably stepped down, leaving Villain allies Danielle DiLorenzo and Parvati Shallow to cut a deal to allow Danielle to win immunity.
In South Pacific, the challenge was used as the final Redemption Island duel. After over 40 minutes, Ozzy Lusth defeated Brandon Hantz, permanently eliminating Brandon, and allowing Ozzy to re-enter the game.
In Blood vs. Water, the challenge was used again used as Redemption Island duel, this time to re-enter the game at the merge. After over 20 minutes, John Cody fell off first, followed by Laura Boneham, allowing Laura Morett to win. John and Laura B. were permanently eliminated, while Laura M. was able to re-enter the game.
In Worlds Apart, the challenge was once again the first individual Immunity Challenge. After around an hour, Joe Anglim ultimately outlasted Carolyn Rivera in the middle of a rainstorm to win immunity.
In Game Changers, the challenge appeared as the final twelve Immunity Challenge. Tai Trang ultimately outlasted Ozzy Lusth after 1 hour and 35 minutes to win immunity.
In Winners at War, the challenge was again the first individual Immunity Challenge, with both the longest-lasting man and woman winning. After an unspecified amount of time in pouring rain, Denise Stapley outlasted Kim Spradlin-Wolfe to win immunity for the women, while Jeremy Collins ultimately held on longer than Nick Wilson to claim immunity for the men.
In Survivor 45, the challenge was used ahead of the Split Tribal Council at the final twelve. The Dakuwaqa tribe was split into two groups of six, with the person lasting the longest on each group winning immunity, and the person lasting the longest overall winning reward for their tribe. Kellie Nalbandian outlasted everyone on the blue team, while Dee Valladares outlasted everyone on the red team before beating Kellie to win a trip to the Survivor Sanctuary for her group.
In Survivor 46, the challenge reappeared as the final ten immunity challenge. Prior to the challenge, Jeff offered the members of the Nuinui tribe a chance to earn enough rice to last the rest of the game if four of them gave up their shot at immunity; only Liz Wilcox and Q Burdette offered to sit out, much to the latter's frustration. The challenge came down to Charlie Davis and Hunter McKnight, with Hunter outlasting Charlie after over twenty minutes to win immunity.
The challenge reappeared in Survivor 48 as the final round of Pairy Feral, in which castaways first competed in pairs before competing in this challenge as individuals at the end. David Kinne, Eva Erickson, Joe Hunter, and Mary Zheng all reached the final round of the challenge. Joe dropped first, followed by David, then Mary, giving Eva her first individual immunity win.
Australia[]
In Australian Survivor (2016), the challenge was used as the third individual immunity challenge. Kylie Evans won the challenge after over six hours when Brooke Jowett agreed to step down in exchange for a letter from home.
In Brains v Brawn (2021), the challenge appeared as a duel, where the last two people voted out of the Fire tribe, Baden Cooke and Hayley Leake, competed to return into the game. For 20 minutes, Baden struggled to maintain his grip on the log, while Hayley hung on comfortably. In the end, Baden dropped first and was eliminated from the game, becoming the first member of the jury.
In Brains v Brawn II, the challenge appeared as a team Immunity Challenge at the final ten, where the members of Bounty and Barren faced off against each other. As part of the twist, the members of Bounty had the advantage of starting on the largest footholds. After 52 minutes, Kate Gloufchis and Zara Callianiotis outlasted Paulie Michael to win immunity for Bounty.
France[]
New Zealand[]
Philippines[]
The challenge first appeared in the Philippine version on Day 19 of Survivor Philippines: Celebrity Showdown as an Isla Purgatoryo Face-Off Challenge between the then-incumbent inhabitant Justine Ferrer and challenger Louie Ang. Unlike other iterations of the challenge, the participants had burlap rings on their feet as foot grippers. By the two-minute mark, the burlap rings were taken off. Justine outlasted Louie, winning her fourth straight duel.
The challenge returned on Day 20 of Survivor Philippines: Celebrity Doubles Showdown with its original mechanics, but with host Richard Gutierrez adding incentives to tempt the castaways into bailing. The first temptation was an automatic individual immunity for the next Tribal Council should a player chose to get a tattoo of the logo of the season, which Betong Sumaya Jr., KC Montero, and Stef Prescott accepted. After a series of subsequent failed bribes, the challenge lasted for 4 hours and 14 minutes, with Arnold Aninion winning individual immunity.
Quebec[]
Russia (Unofficial)[]
The challenge was used as the first individual Immunity Challenge in Serdtse Afriki after the merge. After 1 hour and 26 minutes, Samir Makhmudov outlasted Roman Lebedev to win immunity.
South Africa[]
The challenge appeared in Maldives as the Final Immunity Challenge. Under torrential rain, the final three held on to slippery poles in a bid to get a spot in the Final Two. Shortly before the 45-minute mark, Bonnie Henna gave up and opted to bail out. After one hour, the rain had subsided, and the final two contestants standing restated their resolve to keep holding on. Two hours in, the storms returned and, at 2 hours and 58 minutes, Hykie Berg slipped and Letshego Moshoeu won her third Immunity Challenge.
In Immunity Island, the challenge was used as the first post-merge Immunity Challenge. After 3 hours and 15 minutes, Anesu Mbizvo dropped out, allowing Kiran Naidoo to win immunity.
United Kingdom[]
Winners[]
| Episode | Challenge Type | Winners | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vanuatu "Culture Shock and Violent Storms" |
Individual Immunity |  Twila Tanner | |
| Cook Islands "Why Would You Trust Me?" |
Individual Immunity |  Ozzy Lusth | |
| Tocantins "The Dragon Slayer" |
Individual Immunity |  Tyson Apostol | |
| Heroes vs. Villains "Going Down in Flames" |
Individual Immunity |  Danielle DiLorenzo | |
| South Pacific "Loyalties Will Be Broken" |
Duel |  Ozzy Lusth | |
| Blood vs. Water "Skin of My Teeth" |
Duel |  Laura Morett | |
| Worlds Apart "The Line Will Be Drawn Tonight" |
Individual Immunity |  Joe Anglim | |
| Game Changers "There's a New Sheriff in Town" |
Individual Immunity |  Tai Trang | |
| Winners at War "This Is Where the Battle Begins" |
Individual Immunity |  Denise Stapley |
 Jeremy Collins |
| Survivor 45 "The Thorn in My Thumb" |
Individual Immunity |  Kellie Nalbandian |
 Dee Valladares |
| Team Reward |      Austin, Dee, Jake, Julie, Kaleb, Katurah | ||
| Survivor 46 "Hide 'n Seek" |
Individual Immunity |  Hunter McKnight | |
| Survivor 48 "A Rift Between All of Us" |
Individual Immunity |  Eva Erickson | |
| Episode | Challenge Type | Winners | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Survivor (2016) Episode 17 |
Individual Immunity |  Kylie Evans | |
| Champions v Contenders (2018) Episode 14 |
Individual Immunity |  Sharn Coombes | |
| Brains v Brawn (2021) Episode 15 |
Duel |  Hayley Leake | |
| Heroes v Villains Episode 16 |
Team Reward |   George & Hayley | |
| Brains v Brawn II "G-R-I-M" |
Team Immunity |      AJ, Karin, Kate, Morgan, Zara | |
| Episode | Challenge Type | Winners |
|---|---|---|
| Bocas del Toro Episode 11 |
Individual Reward |  Hélène Patry |
| Panama Episode 9 |
Individual Immunity |  Alban Mbossoro |
| Pacifique Episode 10 |
Individual Immunity |  Clémence Castel |
| Caramoan Episode 11 |
Individual Immunity |  Bertrand Bolle |
| Malaisie Episode 9 |
Individual Immunity |  Charles Clément |
| Thaïlande Episode 7 |
Individual Immunity |  Carine Cazals |
| Le Combat des Héros Episode 9 |
Individual Immunity |  Clémence Castel |
| La Guerre des Chefs Episode 12 |
Individual Immunity |  Aurélien Soulimant |
| Les Armes Secrètes Episode 9 |
Team Reward (Tied Destinies) |
  Flavio & Laure |
| Le Totem Maudit Episode 9 |
Individual Immunity |  Louana Roy |
| Les Chasseurs d'Immunité Episode 13 |
Individual Reward |  Sébastien Cazaux |
| Team Reward |   David, Julie, Sébastien |
| Episode | Challenge Type | Winners |
|---|---|---|
| Thailand Episode 13 |
Individual Immunity |  Tess Fahey |
| Episode | Challenge Type | Winners |
|---|---|---|
| Palau Cycle 7 |
Face-Off Challenge |  Justine Ferrer |
| Celebrity Doubles Showdown Cycle 7 |
Individual Immunity |  Arnold Aninion |
| Episode | Challenge Type | Winners |
|---|---|---|
| Survivor Québec (2023) Episode 61 |
Individual Immunity |  Karine Lavigne-Fortin |
| Episode | Challenge Type | Winners |
|---|---|---|
| Serdtse Afriki Episode 9 |
Individual Immunity |  Samir Makhmudov |
| Episode | Challenge Type | Winners | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maldives Episode 13 |
Individual Immunity (Final Immunity) |
 Letshego Moshoeu | |
| Immunity Island "Here for a Good Time" |
Individual Immunity |  Kiran Naidoo |
|
| Episode | Challenge Type | Winners |
|---|---|---|
| Survivor U.K. (2023) Episode 11 |
Individual Immunity |  Tinuke Oyediran |
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- The concept for the challenge originated after challenge producer John Kirhoffer observed local laborers climbing coconut trees while in Vanuatu, amazed as they wrapped their limbs around the tree upon reaching the top while whacking coconuts with a machete.[1]
- The name of the challenge is from an Aerosmith album.[2]
- This is the second challenge in which a returning player has won the same challenge twice. Ozzy Lusth won this challenge in the Cook Islands, and later in South Pacific. The first challenge to have this distinction was the When It Rains, It Pours challenge, which was won by Parvati Shallow in Micronesia and Heroes vs. Villains.
- This challenge has been used as a Redemption Island duel twice. Both times, it was won by a returning player who re-entered the game.
- However, this occurrence happened at different stages of the game. In South Pacific, Ozzy won this challenge at the second re-entry point at the final five, while Laura Morett won at the first re-entry point at the merge in Blood vs. Water.
- Of the 20 contestants to compete against Ozzy Lusth over three seasons, only Tai Trang has outlasted him in this challenge.
- This challenge made an appearance in every season Candice Cody, J.T. Thomas, and Tyson Apostol participated in.
- However, each of them only competed in the challenge twice.
- In Worlds Apart, the poles were 13 feet high.[3]
References[]