Season 3 of the Challenge begins with two helicopters flying high above the strip of Las Vegas, Nevada. In typical Challenge fashion, the occupants of these helicopters are blindfolded and have no clue where they’re off to – or who they’re with.

Real World

We’re re-introduced to Kat (London). She says she went back to New York, graduated from college, and promptly moved to Los Angeles.

Up next is David (Seattle) who also graduated from college but moved to France (?!?) for a while. He would become a Challenge veteran and a bit of a mainstay throughout the next few years.

We then hear from Mike of (Miami), a.k.a. not the Miz, who has since become a private investigator to the disbelief of everyone

Teck (Hawaii) says he, “rolls with money makers now” and is working on some “top secret things.” Hey, maybe Mike can investigate what he’s up to.

His Hawaii cast-mate, Amaya, is doing absolutely nothing with her life. She did get a hamster, though.

Meanwhile, Real World O.G. Heather B. (New York) has become a prominent hip-hop artist.

Road Rules

We’re then introduced to the Road Rules squad. Up first is Piggy (Down Under) who desperately needs money but has hardly trained for this Challenge.

Dan (Northern Trail) got a fancy business degree and is an intern for an advertising agency but vows to never go back into advertising.

Los (USA: The First Adventure) finished up at Howard University and is doing freelancing because he can’t do the 9-5 deal.

Holly (Latin America) is studying journalism at the University of Colorado.

Yes (Semester at Sea) is traveling and notes that he has broken up with season-mate Melissa. Boo.

Veronica (Semester at Sea) is nervous going into this Challenge because of how emotionally disturbing her season was (she won’t feel this way for long).

Alrighty, these helicopters land on the rooftop of a building…and four Chip-N-Dale dancers are standing by. They actually physically remove the cast from the helicopters which, hey, sounds like a pretty important job. Good for them.

One of the dancers instructs the cast to remove their blindfolds and the cast finally reveal themselves to one another. A limo pulls up and a small red carpet is rolled out for…

Gladys (Road Rules: Latin America), who is Ms. Big – a.k.a the Host of Challenge 2000. Holly notes that Gladys was from her season…until she was kicked off after beating the piss out of Abe (not to be confused with the Challenge icon).

Gladys welcomes the cast and runs down the format for the Challenge: each mission will be worth $10,000 e-Trade Dollars, which they have to immediately invest. One of the meatheads opens up a briefcase filled with cash as Gladys reveals there’s over $100,000 e-Trade dollars up for grabs. How does investing work? Simple. They go online and do some buying and selling of stocks, explains Teck. He wants to invest in pumpkins, which sounds like a smart buy to me.

Mission #1: Stratos-Fear

Gladys goes onto reveal that today’s mission will require the cast to bungee-jump off the Stratosphere Tower to the delight and terror of the cast.

An instructor notes that this will be a world breaking jump and notes that the team with the most jumpers will win the $10,000 e-Trade dollar prize. David thinks Piggy will wimp out; Heather B. says she is flat-out not doing this mission. David and Yes are the first ones to volunteer for their respective teams. They both want to be the first ones to set the record.

They get to the top of the tower and set-up for the jump. David is annoyed that Yes is constantly talking about how awesome the jump will be (he plans to jump backwards). Mind games!

During a confessional interview, Piggy says David is hot and she’s heard he’s got a big…well, you know.

Anyways, the cast watch from below as Real World cheers on David. He jumps…backwards! He later says it was insane and didn’t think he was going to stop. He’s informed by the instructor that he did not break the record because the cord did not stretch out enough. Bummer. Real World 1, Road Rules 0

Yes is up next and decides to top David by doing a backflip but does not get the record. The rest of the cast discuss how crazy this mission is. Amaya says she’s going to be conquering a “really big fear” by doing this mission. As it’s her turn to jump, she starts to cry. But guess what? She does it, damn it! She doesn’t faint and have a panic attack (looking at you, Leah). She, too, does not get the record. Real World 2, Road Rules 1

Holly’s up next and she jumps without any issue but, still, no record. The same goes for Dan. Hey, there’s Heather B.! She’s determined to jump for her team but fails to set the record. Ditto for Los and Mike. Real World 4, Road Rules 4

Piggy (I keep typing Peggy) is up next and she is in full panic mode. She convinces herself that she needs the money for a car but she’s having a hard time. “I have no inclination in my life to bungee jump.” Yes is hoping Piggy doesn’t back out because they need the money. Piggy is standing at the edge…AND JUMPS! She comes through for Road Rules but also fails to set the record. Holly says in a confessional that Peggy can be “incredibly harsh and rude but that’s what I love about her.” Real World 4, Road Rules 5.

The mission is actually shutdown for the day because wind was picking up. Two massive tour buses than pull up – both adorned with the respective Real World and Road Rules logos. They’re pretty sweet but the sleeping area is cramped. Hey, Road Rules is sure as heck used to it. This is actually a step up for them.

Teck wants to go out but none of his roommates want to. Party poopers. He hops into a car with some people (I cannot tell who they are) and goes to Studio 54, where he dances with a rando. Back on the RW tour bus, Amaya says a man who can dance turns her on.

It’s the next morning and David notes Teck has not shown back up (my man!). Heather B. is furious that he’s not back for the mission. Real World is really nervous that Teck will cost them…but he shows up. Heather B. has a literal boot in her hand to kick his ass. Teck say he was kicking it but Heather B. is kicking him. Gotta sting.

Teck is the first to jump but also fails to set the world record. Veronica is up next and she makes the jump but fails to set the record. Real world 5, Road Rules 6.

The final competitor is Kat, the last chance for someone on this cast to break the record. She looks very, very nervous. She’s about to jump…but says that she’s can’t. They warn her that she cannot stand on the edge for much longer and has to jump or get off. She chooses to jump…AND SHE SETS THE WORLD RECORD.

Winner of Challenge #1: Tie

Kat, who jumped 700 feet to establish the new world record, says she never would’ve thought she could do something like this. The trainer congratulates the cast and awards both Real World & Road Rules $10,000 e-Trade dollars. The cast trash talk as the episode ends.