One of the new fall shows that CBS was heavily promoting was The Summit, and for good reason. It fits well into their reality competition suite of shows, like Survivor and The Amazing Race, but it offers something different: Incredible vistas of the New Zealand Alps. And, based on where the show takes place, these contestants are being asked to traverse some pretty treacherous terrain.

THE SUMMIT: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

Opening Shot: Over amazing vistas in New Zealand, host Manu Bennet talks about how the indigenous population called it “The Land Of The Long White Cloud.”

The Gist: In The Summit, sixteen strangers are tasked with climbing to the top of a mountain in the New Zealand Alps in the span of 14 days. The group has to work as a team, as they will each be holding a share of the $1 million prize in their backpacks. Whoever is left at the end of the 14 days shares what’s left of that $1 million, but only if they reach the summit. If they fall short of that goal, they get nothing.

If a contestant drops out, either because of health reasons or just because they’re done with the competition, their share of the money disappears. There are nine checkpoints; it’s worth the group’s while to hit the checkpoints on time, so as not to fall behind. But the checkpoints also provide shelter, food and a chance to resupply. If they don’t make the checkpoint, the groups have to find a spot to make a “bivy camp” (“bivy” is short for “bivouac”), where they have to make their own fire, sleep in their sleeping bags and eat the freeze-dried food they’re carrying.

One other thing happens at each checkpoint: The group votes one person off the mountain, and “steals” their share of the prize money.

The group of sixteen are, as one might expect, a cross-section of people that may or may not have the ability or conditioning to go on this long, treacherous journey. Some are athletes, others are not. One or two have never been camping before. One contestant tries to hide the fact that she was in the military, just to keep the others on their toes. Others are determined to shut off all feelings and empathy and treat this as the game it is.

The groups are faced with challenges; in the first episode, they have to cross a wobbly rope bridge over a deep ravine. It’s during those challenges that a black helicopter, called “The Mountain’s Keeper,” drops a bag with a task and materials in it that gives one of the contestants a tough choice to make, usually involving leaving someone behind and losing their share of the money or helping them out even though they may be slowing the group down.

What Shows Will It Remind You Of? Survivor crossed with Outlast.

Our Take: At this point, you know that you’re going to see all of the reality competition archetypes on The Summit: The contestants who are there to play the game, form alliances, and not make any friends; the people that the others rally around because they’re kind, supportive and helpful; the person who’s never done anything like this before and is challenging themselves; the underestimated ones who are more cunning and determined than anyone thinks, etc.

So what is going to separate The Summit apart from all of the other reality competition shows out there, especially the ones that are on the same network? Scenery, for one; the original Australian version of this series established itself in the New Zealand Alps, and the producers decided not to mess with that formula for the American edition. The vistas in that part of the world are spectacular, and the camera work to show just the scale of what these contestants face is well-done. The show is worth watching just to show this group going from the lush greenery at the base of the mountain to the Arctic conditions near the top.

The rules of the game are somewhat confusing, but the 90-minute episodes (just over 60 minutes of runtime without ads) give the producers enough time to show the various game elements in action, from the Keeper’s requests to the checkpoint vote-offs.

But what’s going to keep the show’s tension going are seeing the group struggle to traverse the terrain to get to the summit. Even from the first minutes of the climb, viewers can see that this isn’t for the faint of heart or round of shape; we certainly wouldn’t be able to do much of what this group did during the first two days of the journey.

Yes, there are plenty of people in this group who have the athleticism and stamina to take on most of what the producers throw at them, like cocky nurse Dennis Cho or Disney Princess-turned-construction-manager Becky Rowis. But are we rooting for them or for the underdogs, like basketball coach Bo Martin, or Amy Stephens, who has never even been camping before?

The producers quickly establish the people the viewers are going to root for and the ones they’re going to root against, but given that this is supposed to be a team effort, it’ll be interesting to see how many of the sixteen make it to the top, and if they manage to get there in the very short 14-day timeframe.

Sex and Skin: None.

Parting Shot: The group votes off the first person, then splits the money that person was carrying.

Sleeper Star: We like Bo; he’s our age and he seems to be determined to keep going even though his middle-aged body might betray him. He’s also a good guy and a person who’s a supportive motivator. We just don’t know how long he’s going to last. For some reason, we liked Robert Culp’s camp counselor vibe, though it rubbed a lot of people the wrong way.

Most Pilot-y Line: Do you think The North Face paid for product placement during this series? We only saw its logo on every tent, sleeping bag, backpack and stitch of clothing everyone was wearing.

Our Call: STREAM IT. While the contestants on The Summit basically cover every reality competition archetype out there, the vistas are stunning and the terrain is harrowing enough to keep our attention.

Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, RollingStone.com, VanityFair.com, Fast Company and elsewhere.