Alive

By the 17th day, a form of order emerges among the survivors. They organize themselves into teams for cutting meat from the dead, cooking, melting snow, and cleaning the living area. The fittest are earmarked for potential expeditions. They huddle together in the cold, pray, and talk among themselves each night.

On the night of October 29, an avalanche hits the wreckage. Snow bursts into the plane and buries many of the survivors. Roy Harley is awake, and he is the only person who is not stuck beneath a pile of snow. He uncovers Canessa, Fito Strauch, and anyone else he can find. Eduardo Strauch is freed, as is Coche Inciarte, Moncho Sabella, Carlos Paez, Daniel Fernandez, Nacho Parrado, Gustavo Zerbino, and Bobby Francois. As they search for more people, they begin to find dead bodies. Marcelo Perez, Daniel Maspons, Gustavo Nicolich, Juan Carlos Menendez, Diego Storm, Enrique Platero, Carlos Roque, and Liliana Methol all die in the avalanche. Those who are free continue the search. They find Numa Turcatti and Pancho Delgado. Javier Methol tells them to save his wife, but he is too late.

There are 19 survivors left alive. As they mourn the dead, a second avalanche hits them. The plane is already too buried in snow to be affected. Those inside are “wet, cramped, and bitterly cold” (76). They spend an endless night trying to keep each other warm enough to survive. The air supply dwindles, and they must use their cigarette lighters to fashion an air duct while they begin to feel faint.

Eventually morning arrives. The survivors tunnel out through the cockpit and break through to the surface of the snow. A blizzard rages outside and traps them inside the buried plane. They try to plot an expedition force which can hike down the mountain and find help for the others. The summer season in the Andes begins on November 15 in over two weeks. The weather will improve at that time, and their chances of survival increase with it. The blizzard continues over the coming days and they are forced to eat the raw meat of those who died in the avalanche.

On November 1. the weather improves. The survivors dig out of the wreckage and remove the bodies from the plane. Some are kept frozen in a wall of ice inside the plane as a reserve food supply in case another avalanche traps the survivors inside the wreckage. Meanwhile, a small group prepares for the expedition. The fittest survivors are given larger rations and excused from work to prepare them for the long, arduous journey ahead. Nando Parrado, Canessa, Turcatti, and Vizintin are selected to make the journey. The final spot on the team is decided by a test expedition made by Paez, Harley, and Vizintin.

The Strauch cousins and their friend Daniel Fernandez take on a greater leadership role. They are charged with the unpleasant task of cutting the meat from the dead bodies. The meat is cut, dried, and rationed carefully. They eat the fat, the muscle, and the internal organs of their dead friends. Only the lungs, skin, head, and genitals are discarded. Those with injuries or those still suffering from trauma cannot help with the daily chores. The other survivors begin to view them as “parasites” (85).

The reality of the plane crash changes many of the survivors. Nando Parrado had once been a timid, withdrawn boy but becomes a courageous, well-loved man. He remains impatient and impetuous while also despising the weakness shown by men like Roy Harley. Numa Turcatti is similarly loved among the survivors, though he struggles to eat the meat and his body weakens. Canessa is smart and an essential medical authority, but his abrasive personality makes him difficult to love. Vizintin is similarly quarrelsome and self-centered. Bobby Francois does not change. He is lazy and refuses to work while seeming convinced that survival is impossible. His pessimism infuriates people. Although Moncho Sabella and Javier Methol struggle, they try to contribute where they can. Coche Inciarte is injured but respected while Pancho Delgado is resented for his “facile optimism” (89). Inciarte works even though he is incapacitated while Delgado refuses to try to ignore the pain of his own injury. Delgado becomes a scapegoat as he is neither young enough, likeable enough, or as well-known to the others to escape negative attention.

Roy Harley is traumatized by the failure of the expedition and the death of his friends. He becomes mentally fragile, weeps often, and does little to help the group. Carlitos emerges better from the failed expedition. He works harder and takes on more responsibility while making people laugh. If the Strauch cousins are in charge, then the second group below them is made up of Carlitos Paez, Zerbino, and Jose Algorta. Zerbino becomes something of a policeman in the group while Algorta, who suffers amnesia, is an “unlikely hero” (90) who has different, more socialist politics than the other survivors and works hard for the group. The survivors quarrel often and form friendships and enmities among themselves.

The survivors develop a fragile social order complete with checks and balances. The Strauch cousins limit the power of those chosen for the expedition, who in turn limit the power of the Strauch boys. The only ones outside the social order are Rafael Echavarren and Arturo Nogueira whose severe injuries mean that they can rarely leave the plane. Echavarren’s leg becomes infected and gangrenous. Nogueira’s injury is worsened by his despair. He suffers a mental breakdown and cannot bring himself to feel hope.

As arguments and disagreements with others including Echavarren leave him isolated and friendless, Nando Parrado realizes that Nogueira’s isolation is killing him. He tries to encourage hope in Nogueira. That night Nogueira leads the boys in prayers and his sincerity causes them to weep. He writes a letter to his loved ones. The next day he weakens and develops a fever then a delirium. Nogueira slips into a half coma then dies during the night.

With the survivors shocked by Nogueira’s death, the need to escape becomes more urgent. They refine their sleeping arrangements and form processes to deal with the need to urinate during the night. None of these processes are perfect and occasionally breed anger and resentment. The inside of the plane becomes a mess so new rules are introduced to keep their living quarters clean. No one sleeps well. They are constantly cold, constantly hungry, constantly waking one another up, and constantly fearing that a second avalanche may strike the plane. The irritation rarely spills over into actual violence. Vizintin and Canessa abusing their privileges causes fights, but these are quickly settled. The survivors bicker, curse at one another, and argue often as this is the only release for their frustration.

In calmer moments, the survivors talk to pass the time. They discuss the topics most of them have in common such as rugby and the science of agriculture. Most often they discuss food. They take turns describing meals in excruciating detail. The food conversations become so common that the survivors decide to stop. Instead they try to talk about their families and farming. They invent an imaginary farm and give one another specific roles and jobs. Jokes are hard to come by but dark humor and shared references to their situations bring some levity to the situation. One of the most important matters they discuss is escape. They plan the expedition in great detail and even plot what they should do immediately after the rescue. They think about selling their story to a publisher to write a book. Each night at the same time the conversation ends. They pray together then try to sleep.

As the middle of November draws closer, the survivors are excited by the prospect of the imminent expedition. The chosen survivors prepare their clothing, their sunglasses, their bags, and their supplies. Although Numa Turcatti develops an injury which turns septic, he insists that he will still make the trek. They plot the route and set off early in the morning but are forced to return when the weather turns difficult. The bad weather continues for two days. During this period, Turcatti’s injury worsens. He can no longer walk and becomes angry when he is told that he cannot join the delayed expedition. Eventually the skies clear and the depleted expedition sets off on November 17, five weeks after the plane crash. The survivors bid farewell to Parrado, Canessa, and Vizintin. Many hope that the expedition will reach civilization in a matter of days.

Canessa leads the expedition and drags a sledge made from a suitcase. After two hours they find the missing tail of the plane. Inside are suitcases filled with more clothes, food, and even a skiing kit. They restock and camp in the tail that night. As they continue the next day, they begin to worry about the direction the valley will take them. They believe that civilization is to the west whereas the valley curls to the east. They huddle together in the freezing cold but realize that they will struggle to survive a difficult night. The three men return to the tail, collect batteries, clothes, and food, and return to the wreckage.

The survivors in the wreckage are dismayed to see the return of the expedition so soon. Turcatti’s injury has worsened in their absence and Rafael Echavarren is dead. The survivors rekindle their optimism with the hope that the can use the batteries from the tail to operate a radio and call for help. 

The families of the survivors continue their search, though their numbers are dwindling. Some are forced to return to Uruguay. The remaining family members offer rewards and distribute leaflets which beg for any information about the crashed plane. A military report suggests that the heavy snowfalls of the winter will mean that a search is impossible until February. When the families refuse to accept this, the Uruguayan Air Force promises to make a plane available to continue the search.

The families put together an expedition of their own to search for the missing plane. Some put themselves forward to be a part of the small crew while others provide money and advice. The search plane is forced into an emergency landing when one of the engines breaks on the flight to Chile. When the families finally reach Chile, the Chilean military is shocked that the families are still searching after two months. They are unwilling to offer helicopters to scour the mountains unless the families can provide any evidence that the passengers of the missing plane may be alive. The families plan their extensive search which they codename Operation Christmas.