Grand Finale Recap Triumphs are celebrated and hopes are shattered for those that reach The Summit (2024)

After 14 days, 200 kilometres of brutal terrain and death defying obstacles along the way, The Summit is finally in sight.

Just four of 14 trekkers remain – Brooke, Lulu, Isaac and Jans

While the end is near, you can count on the Mountain's Keeper to make the final steps the hardest of the whole journey.

Stream every episode of The Summit for free on 9Now.

What the final four don't yet know is that it's the eliminated contestants that will decide how the cash prize is shared by those who reach The Summit.

But never mind that bombshell, the climbers still have to make it to the top in time to even claim a prize.

And as they stand 200-metres out from the peak, the Mountain's Keeper has dropped one final package.

The Mountain's Keeper asks for one final sacrifice

The Mountain's Keeper drops one last package, and with everyone wanting the power inside the bag, Brooke, Lulu, Jans and Isaac set off on a footrace to be the first to snatch the parcel up.

Lulu gets to the bag first and reads out the note inside: "Before you take another step, you have a tough decision to make. There's only room for three on The Summit. Decide who must now leave the mountain with their cash. The person who reached this note first will make the call."

EXCLUSIVE: The trekkers reveal all the hidden horrors they've faced on their journey to The Summit

It's a kick to the guts for all the climbers, who in Jans' words "have been through so much together".

Jans is filled with regret telling cameras, "I knew I should've got to that bag first" and Brooke is in tears at the thought of sacrificing someone so close to the finish line.

But the power rests in Lulu's hands, although she's not thrilled to be making the decision.

"This is the worst thing ever," she tells her teammates as they all hold hands.

"I love each and every single one of you and we all deserve to be there, we've all made the hard trek here and done the obstacles that have brought us to tears.

"And Isaac, Brooke and I have to take you to the top."

At that moment, Jans' time on the mountain comes to an abrupt end and although he was a controversial player at times, everyone is devastated to see him go.

But no one is more disappointed than him.

"I'm so gutted right now," he tells cameras.

"These past two weeks, I've been quite cheeky and very loud but I do actually genuinely care.

"Honestly, I hope they make it to the top. Truly, they all deserve it."

EXCLUSIVE: Jans' devastation after being eliminated by Lulu so close to the end

And just like that, Jans with his $71,000 is booted from the mountain leaving $490,000 in the prize pool if Brooke, Isaac and Lulu make it to The Summit.

The trekkers finally reach The Summit

With just half an hour to make it to The Summit, the climbers have to dig deep to get there.

Mums Lulu and Brooke think of their children every step of the way. And "in true Isaac fashion" he is trailing behind the girls.

"I can taste The Summit, but my body is aching everywhere," Isaac admits.

But just as he has the whole way through, Isaac pushes through the pain and with Brooke and Lulu finally reaches The Summit.

"This is what we've been waiting for," Lulu celebrates.

It's an emotional moment for all three hikers as they reflect on why they embarked on the journey in the first place.

"I did this for my children and most importantly for myself. I found myself and I'm not a failure this has brought the joy back in my life. I am the queen of the mountain," Brooke exclaims.

WATCH: The emotional moment the trekkers finally reach the mountain peak on The Summit 

And it's no surprise that Isaac "feels on top of the world". "For my mum, myself and the mob. We did it baby!" he says.

While there's plenty of reason to celebrate, Brooke, Isaac and Lulu only think they've won an equal share of $490,000 but like host Jai Courtney said, "Reaching The Summit is just the beginning".

The jury deliberates how the prize money will be divided

Jai meets Brooke, Lulu and Isaac on The Summit and reminds them of the saying "Be kind to those on your way up, because you never know who you're gonna meet on your way down."

The trio finally put the pieces of the puzzle together and realise all the eliminated trekkers will decide how the cash pool is distributed.

"You might end up with an equal share, you might get a little bit or you might get nothing," Jai says.

It's enough to make Isaac "feel sick".

All the returning contestants have a different agenda and it's safe to say the reunion is "a little bit awkward" considering they were all voted off, stolen from or left behind.

Brooke

Brooke is in the hot seat first and knows she has some blood on her hand when it comes to Stephen and Jacqui's eliminations.

Jacqui wants to rehash the confrontation she and Brooke had at the campfire that lead to her removal from the competition.

Brooke justifies the decision by saying that it was a case of her acting before Jacqui had a chance to eliminate her.

"I was scared of you Jacqui. I was just like, 'If I don't do something now I'm gonna be gone'," Brooke explains.

But Jacqui insists Brooke's was a "selfish decision" made without the opinion of the whole group.

Jans rushes to Brooke's defence and tells Jacqui that in fact "a lot of the group were quite happy after you left".

And on that note, Jacqui's argument against Brooke is quashed.

"Brooke, you earned your spot on top of that mountain," Jans applauds Brooke.

"You have every right to be on top of that mountain and thank you for taking me in and taking you as far as you did."

After "doing it tough most of her life" and "suffering low self worth," Brooke admits this money would help her reinvent herself.

Isaac 

Isaac is quick to acknowledge everyone for help picking up his slack so he could make it as far as he did.

And while he admits he "has some blood on his hands", he thinks he acted with integrity most of the way.

WATCH: Tense words exchanged in unseen moments from the jury deliberation

He's not shy to say that as "a Phoenix rising out of the ashes" he deserves at least a third of the cash.

"I've grown and I'm not the same person I was when I came here," he says.

The atmosphere is high as everyone celebrates Isaac's unbelievable progress, but Josh dampens the mood as he points the finger at Isaac for his departure from the mountain.

Josh isn't convinced that "disloyalty deserves cash". But Isaac is quick to counteract, reminding Josh that he tried to abandon Isaac on the abseiling challenge.

There isn't a dry eye in the house as Alex gives his best matesome words of encouragement.

"I drew strength from you and your resilience – we can only do so much you have to physically get there yourself," he says. "I'm so proud of your achievements."

"Your mum would be proud, so well done brother."

Lulu

Having been responsible for Indy, Alex and Jans' elimination, Lulu knows this is going to be a tough gig.

"That could backflip on me, even though it's what got me here," she says.

Despite being a two-time World Champion boxer, Lulu says her financial situation hasn't benefited from it. "As a female athlete, you don't reap the rewards,"she says.

"To be able to bring something home to my children would be a way to repay them for all the sacrifices they've made."

As heartwarming as Lulu's case is, Indy and Jans are still feeling salty and Alex has to check "for the knife in his back".

Lulu explains the reasoning behind each of her decisions and emphasises that they were just as "heartbreaking" for her to make.

Jans wants to cut to the chase and get to the split of the money – which Lulu thinks should be split evenly.

"We all worked as hard as each other."

Deliberation 

It might be their toughest Summit challenge yet, but the group must agree on how they will split the cash among Brooke, Lulu and Isaac.

"For me it's about rewarding someone that's persevered, worked hard and stuck their neck out, I'm pushing strongly for Isaac," Alex starts the conversation.

Alex thinks for that reason Isaac deserves a bigger share of the cash and a lot of people are nodding their heads.

Jans jumps forward and says that Brooke and Isaac worked hard while Lulu "flew under the radar" and so she should get a lesser share.

But giving Lulu less than an even share doesn't sit well with Sam and Annikki.

"She got the top in her own right. She was a really strong and tactical player," Sam says.

Jans wholeheartedly disagrees and goes as far as to say, "it wouldn't kill me if Lulu went home with nothing".

There's lots of umms and ahhs but the group finally come to a decision and pack Brooke, Lulu and Isaac's bags with an allocated amount of cash.

Brooke opens hers to find $150,000 and it's safe to say she is "overwhelmed".

"I'm in shock. This amount of money is more than I could ever imagine, I'm just so grateful," she says.

A nervous Lulu prepares to unzip her bag and inside is $90,000.

It's not an equal share, and $70,000 less than if the money would have been split evenly.

But Lulu is "grateful to take something home" to put a deposit down on a house to give her kids the stability she never had.

Of course, that just leaves Isaac and a simple math sum means he is taking home a whopping $250,000.

EXCLUSIVE: Isaac reveals what he'll spend his $250,000 prize money on

After realising how much he's won, Isaac can hardly collect himself. But he eventually wipes away the tears and lets out a loud hurrah.

"It just goes to show you that a smile and a little bit of kindness goes a long way," Isaac says.

"I didn't have the stamina, the endurance or the six-pack."

Stream every episode of The Summit for free on 9Now.