The Andes Survivors: 72 Days in the Snow

On 13 October 1972, a plane carrying a Uruguayan rugby team crashed high in the Andes. Sixteen of the 45 people on board were rescued 72 days later, after two of them walked out over the mountains into Chile. Students trek to the memorial at the crash site and work through the decisions that kept the group alive.

What students will learn

• Analyse leadership, roles and decision-making in an extreme crisis
• Discuss the ethical choices the survivors faced, and how the world judged them
• Understand mountain geography, weather and risk in the high Andes
• Build trust and resilience as a group on a demanding trek

Day by day

1. Day 1, Mendoza: The story. Arrival in Mendoza and an opening session on Flight 571: who was on board, what happened, and the 72 days that followed.
2. Day 2, Malargüe: South to the mountains. Drive south to Malargüe and El Sosneado. Gear check and a briefing with the expedition team.
3. Day 3–5, Valley of Tears: Expedition to the memorial. Three days on foot and horseback with arrieros up the Atuel valley to the crash site and memorial, at about 3,600 m. Evening debriefs on leadership, roles and the choices the survivors made.
4. Day 6, Mendoza: Back to Mendoza. Drive back to Mendoza. An afternoon to rest and write.
5. Day 7, Mendoza to Santiago: Over the Andes. Cross the Andes by road to Santiago, past Aconcagua, the highest mountain outside Asia. The survivors’ walk for help ended on the Chilean side of this range.
6. Day 8, Santiago: Closing and departure. A closing session on leadership and ethics, then flights home.