Miracle in the Andes: 72 Days on the Mountain and My Long Trek Home

In 1972, a plane carrying a rugby team to Chile crashed deep in the Andes, killing many passengers including several of Nando Parrado's teammates, mother, and sister. Parrado was unconscious for three days before waking to find himself stranded on a lifeless glacier with the few remaining survivors. Thinking of his father's grief, Parrado resolved not to wait passively for death. Though an ordinary young man without particular leadership experience, he led an expedition up treacherous mountain slopes and across forty-five miles of frozen wilderness to attempt a rescue of his friends and himself. Decades later, Parrado recounts his seventy-two days on the mountain with candor and emotional depth. His first-person account describes the crash, the ordeal of survival, and what it felt like to live at the edge of death. The narrative explores themes of human resilience and the redemptive power of love.