Alive

On November 23, Bobby Francois turns 21. He is given an extra packet of cigarettes to celebrate. Canessa and Nando Parrado remove the radio from the plane so they can take it to the large batteries in the tail section. They hope they can contact a rescue team if the radio works. The extraction process takes days. Roy Harley is the closest they have to a radio expert but he does not believe enough in his own abilities to make the machine work. Eventually he relents under the social pressure and agrees to hike to the tail section with Vizintin, Canessa, and Parrado. Those left behind have the difficult task of locating more dead bodies. The bodies are buried beneath the snow and are the men’s only source of food. They dig wherever they think a body might be buried. Not all of the survivors can help and not all of them want to. An added problem is that the changing season begins to thaw the top layer of snow. Exposed and beginning to rot, the already harvested bodies must be reburied.

As food supplies dwindle, rationing becomes stricter. The bones of the bodies are broken so that the marrow inside can be consumed. Some survivors eat rotting flesh and brains. A stew is made from whatever can be harvested and served in bowls made from skulls. Relationships become more tense due to complaints about people not contributing and the distribution of cigarettes. Suspicions fester as survivors think others are stealing food or becoming a bad influence. No one says much aloud because they are aware of the need to retain a civil, friendly atmosphere.

The expedition arrives at the tail. The next day they begin work on the radio. They have to reconnect wires and repair what they can. Canessa and Harley work on the radio while Vizintin and Parrado search the tail section again. Tensions between Harley and the others continue to cause trouble. On the third day, Vizintin and Parrado return to the main wreckage to restock their supply of food. They spend two nights at the main camp, uncover a new body, and then return to the tail section with a fresh bundle of meat. Harley and Canessa succeed in rewiring the radio but cannot reach anyone. They fine tune the machine and begin to pick up broadcasts. They hear the news that the search for the missing aircraft will resume so they make a giant cross out of abandoned suitcases.

Meanwhile, the melting snow makes the tail unsafe to be inside. The men give up on the radio and plan for another expedition to civilization.

December arrives. After 56 days on the mountain, two condors are spotted in the air above the 17 survivors. The birds circle above the crash site. The sun becomes warm to the point that they need to shelter in the shade during the day. Canessa is reluctant to make an expedition if the military search is to be resumed, angering the other survivors. They are aware of their diminishing food supplies and also proud of their survival skills. Many do not want to be merely rescued. They want the expedition team to represent the group’s efforts and agency. Fito tells Canessa that the search team are not looking for survivors; they are “looking for dead bodies” (129) so any search may take months. Canessa is convinced.

The expedition departs early on December 12. They have supplies to last ten days and a sleeping bag made from the plane’s insulation. Parrado has a pair of red children’s shoes that he bought for his nephew before the crash. He takes one with the promise that he will one day reunite the pair.

Trudging through the snow is difficult. At night they struggle to find somewhere to camp. Despair overcomes Canessa, but he presses on. The light of the dawn allows Canessa to see far out into the valley. He begins to wonder whether Chile is actually to the west, rather than the east as they have always assumed.

The next day Parrado agrees to scout ahead and see whether they are near the summit of the mountain. He reaches the top and is horrified to discover that he cannot see Chile to the east, just an endless expanse of mountains. He calls for Canessa to join him. They hatch a plan to send Vizintin back to the wreckage and carry on using the supplies intended to feed all three. They may be able to extend their 10 days of rations to 20. Vizintin agrees to the plan.