Kalispell beauty queen in 'Survivor: China' cast

The Daily Inter Lake

Former Kalispell resident Amanda Kimmel - crowned Miss Montana USA in 2005 - will be one of 16 contestants on the upcoming television season of "Survivor."

This is the competition's 15th season and is set in China. The season begins airing on Sept. 20.

Kimmel, 23, a hiking guide and model, recently moved from Kalispell to Los Angeles to live with her sister, Katrina, according to CBS's "Survivor: China" Web site.

In addition to her Miss Montana USA experience, she competed in the Miss Earth and the China-based Miss Kite Of The World pageants. Kimmel graduated from Billings West High School in 2003, according to one Web biography. She began working as a model at 16 in Chicago, staying there for one year.

The Web site said Kimmel enjoys hiking, running, painting, rock climbing, snowshoeing, kickboxing and volleyball.

"Kimmel describes her self as motivated, competitive and determined. She has camped every weekend in Montana since she was 3 years old. She tries to never to leave home without her cowboy boots," the site said.

Kimmel will be in the Fei Long, or "Flying Dragon" tribe of eight people who will initially compete with the eight members of the Zhan Hue, or "Fighting Tiger" tribe, which also has a 28-year-old beauty queen, Ashley Massaro, from East Northport, N.Y.

The two teams will live on separate islands in China's Zhelin Lake in the Jiangxi province.

In keeping with this contest's China theme, all 16 players were given copies of Sun Tzu's "The Art Of War," the ancient Chinese military strategy text.

In "Survivor," contestants - first as teams and then as individuals - compete for rewards and immunity form being voted off, while selecting other players to kick out of the competition. Consequently, social skills, trickery and long-term strategy are just as important as athletic and mental skills.

The last person left wins $1 million.