Miracle in the Andes. 72 Days in the Mountains and My Long Journey Home

Nando Parrado was unconscious for three days, and then he woke up to find out that the plane he was on with a rugby team, accompanied by close relatives and fans for a friendly match in Chile, had crashed somewhere high in the Andes. It soon became clear that many of the passengers had died or were dying, including his mother and sister. The survivors of the crash found themselves trapped on a lifeless glacier at an altitude of over 3,600 meters above sea level, with no supplies and no way to call for help. They endured the frost, deadly avalanches, and… hunger with great difficulty. And then came the horrifying news that the rescuers had stopped looking for them. Nando decided that it was his duty to return home or die trying. This was a desperate decision, but at the same time – the only chance for survival. So, Nando – a completely ordinary guy, not at all inclined to leadership or heroism – led the expedition in an attempt to find help. He faced a journey uphill on the treacherously insidious slopes of the snow-capped mountains, and then through over seventy kilometers of frozen desert. “Miracle in the Andes” is an astonishing narrative of an unimaginable ordeal. In direct, shockingly honest prose, Nando Parrado tells readers what it took – and what it was really like – to survive high in the Andes and endure a full 72 days after the crash victims were left to die. Once you pick this book up, you won’t be able to put it down! – Jon Krakauer, bestselling author of Into the Wild, Into Thin Air, Under the Banner of Heaven, and others. Unlike a situation where the slopes of the mountain are covered by creeping clouds, no fog hides from Nando Parrado the meaning of life. It is in his love for his father that Nando found the motivation to survive for two months on the Chilean glacier. In making his incredible journey across the Andes, Nando also demonstrated the depths of courage, faith, and perseverance that later helped him turn his losses into history.