Encore: Plane Crash in the Andes | The Choice | 3
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This episode originally aired in 2021. Nando Parado crouches beside his friend Arturo Nogueira and rubs his chest to keep him warm. Arturo was badly injured when their plane crashed deep in the Andes Mountains over a month ago, and he hasn't made much of a recovery despite Nando's best efforts. No real medical attention, poor nutrition, and freezing cold temperatures. What did Nando expect?

In the weeks since they dug out from the avalanche, Arturo has grown weaker and thinner at an alarming rate. Nando has agreed to wait to leave on a new expedition until November 15th, the day that winter ends in the Andes Mountains. But he's afraid that Arturo won't live that long. Nando looks at Arturo's sunken face and frail arms and is so concerned that he offers to give his friend his day's ration of meat.

Arturo smiles. "I'm dying, Nando. But it's okay. I'm eager to meet God." Nando is shocked. Arturo has never believed in God. Nando takes Arturo's hand and gently reminds him that he's an atheist. Arturo grins. "I don't believe in the kind of God who forgives sins and part Cs, but I believe in something." Nando has always thought of Arturo as the philosopher of the group.

He is eager to know what his friend believes in, especially now as death approaches. Arturo looks Nando straight in the eyes. "I believe in love. Love is a force that exists outside of us. We can tap into it. We can let it fill our lives, even here on this mountain." Nando wants to ask more, but he can see that Arturo is tiring. He sits with his friend until he falls asleep.

That night, after the survivors have all gone to bed, Nando hears Arturo talking in his sleep. Nando crawls over to him and puts his hand to his forehead. He's burning up. All through the night, Nando sits with his friend as he slips in and out of consciousness. In the morning, when Arturo has been lying still for longer than usual, Nando knows that he's dead.

For Nando, Arturo's death drives home the idea that who lives and dies isn't a part of God's plan at all. It's just arbitrary and cruel. No one was meant to survive the crash. It's simply random. But Arturo's death comes at what feels to Nando like a tipping point. When he looks around at his fellow survivors, he is shocked by how thin they have become.

Many, especially the younger ones, walk around with their shoulders stooped and their eyes on the ground like they've lost all hope. Others in the group are on death's door. Time is running out. They can't wait any longer to be rescued. They must seek it out on their own. The expedition to find help and get off the mountain is more urgent than ever.

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In our last episode, an avalanche killed eight more of the Fairchild's passengers and left the rest trapped inside the fuselage for days. Now that they've escaped, the remaining survivors are growing weaker by the day. Some are sick and others are badly injured. Nando Parado and Roberto Canessa are now the leaders of the group, and they know that time is running out.

But Nando and Roberto have a strong difference of opinion about how they should get off the mountain. Their disagreement threatens to tear the two young men apart. Meanwhile, more and more of their friends are starving. If they don't get off this mountain soon, then every one of them will die. This is Episode 3, The Choice. ♪

Nando stands outside the fuselage, staring down at the valley to the east. It's the morning of November 15th, one month and two days after the crash. Nando and his fellow expeditionaries are ready to set out. The weather is stable, though Nando knows that could change in a heartbeat.

He's stuffed two rugby socks filled with meat and a wine bottle filled with water into his knapsack. And he's wearing five cotton sweaters over two button-down shirts. Nando prays the eastern route is the right one. He wanted to stick to the plan to go west, over the mountain, but he was outvoted.

He still has doubts, but he is glad to be getting the trek underway. Anything is better than spending another minute at the crash site. Four of them are making the trip. Roberto, Numa, Tintin, and Nando. Nando chose Antonio Vicentín, nicknamed Tintin by his teammates, to replace Fido Strauch after Fido was plagued by hemorrhoids and couldn't walk.

Tintin is broad-shouldered with legs like tree trunks and has always been unbreakable on the rugby field. Nando also asked Numa Turkati to make the trip. He's the only survivor who participated in both previous scouting expeditions. But Numa's revulsion at eating the dead only grew in the days following the avalanche. Off and on, he's been refusing to eat.

Nando's concerned about bringing him now. Will he be strong enough? Last night, Nando forced the issue. He brought Numa a piece of meat and gave him an ultimatum. He had to eat or he wouldn't be strong enough to go on the expedition. So Numa shut his eyes and swallowed a chunk of flesh without chewing. But then Nando noticed something else. Two small sores on Numa's right calf.

When he asked him about it, he just waved it off. But Nando hasn't stopped thinking about them. He really hopes they won't get infected on the trip. They'd have to turn back, if that were even a possibility. Nando takes the lead as they begin hiking down into the valley. The sky is overcast and the temperature is hovering around zero. But he's thrilled there's no wind.

It's a gentle descent into a normally forbidding landscape, and Nando feels encouraged. If they can walk around the mountain without having to scale the summit, the trek might not be as difficult as he'd thought. They might even find help sooner than he'd imagined, maybe within a day or two. But a half hour later, Nando looks up at the sky and realizes that the trip won't be so easy after all.

From one minute to the next, the clouds have turned almost black. In an instant, the temperature drops 30 degrees and snow begins whipping around them in violent squalls. Nando remembers the blizzard that penned them in the fuselage for eight days. He turns to the others and shouts over the wind, "We have to go back!" A couple hours later, they reach the fuselage and the storm erupts into a full-fledged whiteout.

Nando can barely see his hand in front of his face as he climbs into the fuselage. His exposed skin is raw from the driving snow, and his legs ache from rushing back. He and Roberto exchange a glance. They both know that if they'd been any deeper in the mountains, the blizzard would have been a death sentence. But being back at the camp feels so punishing. Can they get a single break?

How long will this storm last? And if it doesn't let up soon, how many more of his friends will die? Roberto kneels beside Numa and pours a little eau de cologne onto each of the sores on Numa's calf. They're much larger than when they left on the expedition two days ago. And Roberto is worried. They're twice as big now, Numa. They're infected. You're lucky we were forced back.

Roberto shakes his head. He doesn't have a choice but to leave Numa behind. The blizzard has already set them back 48 hours. And today, the sky is finally clear. The temperature has climbed into the 40s. There's no telling how long these conditions will last, so Roberto doesn't want to waste a second.

He walks outside the fuselage and joins Nando and Tintin, who are already strapped into their snowshoes. The two days back at camp allowed the expeditionaries to prepare even more. Fido made a sled for them out of a Samsonite suitcase by tying a nylon strap to one half of the hard plastic case. Roberto and Nando then loaded it with meat stored in rugby socks and blankets fashioned from seat covers.

The sled allows them to lighten their backpacks, and it also gives them an added bit of security. If one of them gets injured, the others will have a way to transport him through the snow. Roberto takes the first turn pulling the sled, Nando and Tintin walking side by side behind him. Two hours into their hike, Roberto notes they are making good time.

Even dragging the sled, this hike is nothing compared to the steep climb up the western slope. He's just past the spot where they turned back last time when he spot something large in the distance. He doesn't recognize it at first because it's covered in snow. Then, all at once, it comes into focus. The tail section of the plane. Roberto leads the way as they rush over to it.

There are no seats left in the interior and no bodies lying anywhere in sight. But there are suitcases scattered all around the snow outside. Roberto kneels and throws one open. Inside, he finds wool sweaters and corduroy pants and heavy-knit socks. There's a box of meat patties wrapped up in one of the sweaters. He quickly moves on to the next suitcase. There's a bottle of rum inside.

He wonders for a second if he might be hallucinating. After a month of nonstop horror, he feels like he's stumbled on hidden treasure. He looks across to Nando and Tintin. Both are hunched over suitcases of their own. Tintin lifts up a sack of comic books and waves them above his head. Nando is holding two boxes of chocolate, one in each hand.

Roberto steps inside the tail and finds more luggage strewn across the floor. In one of the overhead compartments, he finds two boxes that look like car batteries. They must be spares for the plane's radio. But when Roberto lifts one down, he finds they're almost too heavy to carry. He calls out to Nando and Tintin. If these work, we might not need to climb at all.

Nando shakes his head. And if they don't work, we'll have wasted a day hiking back to the plane and fiddling around with a broken radio. We aren't turning back, Roberto. Roberto shrugs. He's in too good of a mood to argue. Either way, we should camp here tonight. For now, let's keep looking. Just before dark, Roberto hooks the battery up to an overhead light. And for the first time since the crash, they're able to see clearly after nightfall.

We know the batteries work, Nando. Are you sure we shouldn't go back? We also know the radio doesn't work. The whole instrument panel was smashed in, Roberto. Roberto lets it go. It's not worth arguing about. Yet. He holds up his hands and mocks surrender. Then he throws Nando a comic book and smiles. For Roberto, it is the first enjoyable night in the Andes. He's almost sad that they will have to leave once the sun is up.

But then he remembers the death awaiting him back at the fuselage. He knows they have to keep pushing on. It's up to him to find rescue for the others. In the morning, Nando steps outside and is greeted by another clear, bright day. He's just had his best night's sleep since they've been on the mountain.

The tail section isn't large, but since it's only Nando, Roberto, and Tintin, Nando was able to spread out. And it didn't hurt that the rum had him feeling good and drowsy. His hope for the day is to cover as much distance as possible. So he helps Tintin and Roberto pack up the sled and head out, continuing east into the valley.

At first, he enjoys feeling the sun on his skin. But after a while, he feels the sun burning his torso straight through his many layers of clothing. He is thankful when, a few hours later, they come to an outcropping that provides a bit of shade. He sits underneath the piled rocks and scans the surroundings. Now that they've hiked farther into the valley, he can see more clearly the base of the mountain.

What they were able to see from the crash site was only a small fraction of it. It's enormous, large enough, he thinks, to fit all of Montevideo inside. He can't begin to estimate how long it will take to walk around to the other side. And that's only if the valley curves. If it doesn't, then they're just walking deeper and deeper into the Andes.

He thinks about saying something, but he doesn't want to alarm Roberto and Tintin. Not yet. As the afternoon wears on, Nando feels his body adjusting to the warmer air. But then, as soon as the sun begins to dip behind the western peaks, the temperature plummets. He calls out for Roberto and Tintin to stop. "We better start looking for shelter."

There aren't any outcroppings in sight, so Nando suggests they dig a cave in the snow. And they'll need to do it quickly before it gets too dark. They don't have a shovel, so all three crouch down and begin scooping away the snow with their bare hands. Once the hole is deep enough, they huddle inside and wrap themselves in makeshift sea cover blankets. But it's almost no help against the devastating cold.

Nando knew a night outdoors in the Andes would be brutal. Gustavo Zurbino, who nearly died of frostbite during his scouting expedition, warned him how fast the temperatures plummet. But Gustavo had camped at a much higher elevation. Nando knew the valley would be cold after dark, but he didn't think it would be that much colder than the fuselage. He was wrong. After an hour in the snow cave, he's certain that the blood will freeze in his veins.

He throws his arms around Tintin and hugs him close. Roberto begins to lie in the middle. If it's this cold here in the valley, Nando can't imagine what it might feel like to climb any higher to get out of the Andes.

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Head over to Symbiotica.com and use code "Odds" for 20% off and free shipping on your subscription order. As soon as the sun rises, Roberto crawls out of the cave he dug into the snow. He's astonished that his legs aren't completely frostbitten. He groans and starts marching in place. He, Nando, and Tintin spent a hellish night on the mountain with temperatures below zero.

Little by little, his joints begin thawing. His legs are working again, but now he's scared. That night was more than he'd bargained for. He doesn't believe he'll survive another one. He prays there isn't another one, because he knows Nando isn't willing to give up. He stares down the valley, searching for any hint that will curve west soon. Then Nando crawls out of the cave and stands beside him, shivering.

Roberto points down the valley. You are right, Nando. We'll never get to Chile this way. We need to go back to the Fairchild and start over, heading west. But that isn't what Roberto has in mind. We almost died last night. Climbing is a suicide mission. Instead, Roberto wants to take the batteries from the tail back to the Fairchild and fix the plane's radio. He feels they have a better chance of radioing for help than they do of making it out of the Andes alive.

Nando disagrees. The radio is a pipe dream, Roberto. It was destroyed in the crash. We've already wasted enough time. We must head west. Roberto's temper flares. If you want to kill yourself, go ahead. Don't drag me along. Tintin tumbles out of the cave, shaking frost from his beard. Roberto shouts to him.

He orders Tintin to cast a deciding vote. Do they head west or try to fix the radio? Tintin doesn't hesitate. The radio. We'll never make it through another night like that one. Roberto looks at Nando, who shrugs. Fine, I'm outnumbered. But if the radio doesn't work, then I'm climbing. With or without you. By noon, they're back at the tail.

After a quick lunch, Roberto heads straight to the overhead bin where the batteries are stored. They each weigh as much as a bowling ball, too heavy to carry all the way back to the plane. Roberto hands one to Tintin and takes the other himself, while Nando clears room on the sled. But as soon as they set the batteries down, the sled sinks so deep into the snow that it's impossible to pull. So Roberto has another idea.

They can bring the radio to the batteries. Now it's Nando who loses his temper. "That's insane, Roberto. We can't keep walking back and forth between the plane and the tail. Our friends are dying." Roberto calms Nando down by making him a promise. If the radio fails, then they will climb. All three of them. But there's no point in marching to their deaths before they've exhausted every option.

And the radio, Roberto admits, is their last hope.

Nando climbs into the fuselage and is shocked by the sight of his friends. And just their two nights away, he's struck at how thin and weak everyone looks. Their expressions are empty. A few nod to him without making eye contact. Some don't acknowledge him at all. Nando takes Carlitos Paez to the side and asks him what's going on.

Carlitos hangs his head. It was horrible, Nando. In the end, Rafael was delirious. He thought his father was standing over him. Then he started gasping and wheezing. Gustavo tried to help, but there was nothing else he could do. Nando is devastated, not just for himself, but for the whole group.

Rafael Echeveran, the boy whose calf muscle was torn off during the crash, was loved by all the survivors. He was in constant pain, yet he never gave in to despair. Every morning he would sit up and make the same loud and forceful declaration. "I am Rafael Echeveran, and this mountain will not kill me." His courage motivated the others.

but now he's gone. And Nando fears that the death will crush the spirits of everyone who is left. A short while later, Nando sits in the fuselage and listens as Roberto gives his account of their journey. They nod along as he describes his plan to fix the radio, but it's clear they don't believe it will work. And neither does Nando. But all he can do for now is wait and hope that Roberto keeps his promise.

He knows the only way out is west. Roberto stands in the cockpit, looking down at an instrument panel crowded with dials and gauges and color-coded buttons. It's been a day since they returned to the fuselage. Roberto knows he doesn't have much time to prove that the new batteries will turn the radio on. He found a screwdriver and a pocket knife in the tail section of the plane. He hopes it will be enough to help him salvage the radio.

Nando stands next to him, shaking his head. Roberto is too proud to say what he is thinking out loud. He has no idea what belongs to the radio and what doesn't. He begins with the black box. It's held in place by just three screws, and he has no trouble removing it. But there is a mess of very long wires hanging out of the back.

Roberto quickly realizes that this isn't the only part of the radio. The second part, the transmitter, is nowhere in sight. He's going to have to search what's left of the whole plane. Roberto gets on his knees and searches the floor beneath the instrument panel. Nando runs his hands over the ceiling, thinking maybe there's a hidden compartment. They go over every inch of the cockpit, but the missing half of the radio isn't there.

Hours later, Roberto finds what they're looking for in the luggage compartment. It's set in a cabinet in the back wall, just above eye level. Instead of three simple screws, this part of the radio is held in place by a solid metal frame, which has been bolted to the wall. Roberto and Nando take a screwdriver and pocketknife to it, but what they need is a full set of industrial power tools.

More than once, the blade of the knife slips and nicks Roberto's hand. Eventually, he's able to pull it from the wall. But when he sets it on the floor, he finds at least as many wires sticking out the back as there are on the black box. Nando curses and punches the air. How are we ever going to match them all up? Roberto is so discouraged, he's fighting back tears.

After two long days of labor, all he has to show for his effort is an unsolvable puzzle. But he isn't ready to give up. He remembers that Roy Harley built an antenna for that transistor radio. An antenna powerful enough to get a signal all the way from Santiago. Roy is their only chance to get the radio working. He has to help them now.

Roy Harley is lying on the floor of the fuselage when he looks up and sees Nando and Roberto standing over him. Immediately, he has a bad feeling. He can tell they want something, and he knows that whatever it is, he won't be able to give it to them. Roy isn't sure if it's the altitude or the fact that he's lost so much weight, but for days now, he's been feeling dizzy and unsteady on his feet. Loud noise makes him jump, but he's not sure if it's the altitude or the fact that he's lost so much weight.

and more than once he's burst out weeping without knowing why. He's barely set foot outside the fuselage in days. All he wants to do is shut his eyes and pretend he's at home with his mother pouring him tea. But Roberto is standing over him now. "You have to come with us to the tail section. We need you to put the Fairchild's radio back together." Roy can't believe what he's hearing. "I can barely walk from one end of the plane to the other.

Nando glares down at him. You're the only one who can help us, Roy. But I don't know anything about electronics, Nando. I set up my cousin's stereo. That's it. What about Marcelo's radio? Roy shakes his head. That was a little transistor radio. You're talking about something completely different. Roberto crouches next to him and lowers his voice. You have a chance to save all of our lives. You're coming with us to the tail if I have to drag you there.

We'll leave in a few days. Rest up." Roy watches as Roberto and Nando walk away. Since Rafael died, Roy has been convinced that he's next. He's only skin on a skeleton now. He'd hoped death would come for him in his sleep, but now he knows better. It's the hike to the tail that will kill him. He doubts he'll make it halfway. Nando tries not to show his frustration as they hike back out to the tail.

He knows they should be heading west, but he doesn't want to upset Roberto and push him to break their deal to hike west if the radio doesn't work. Besides, it's a mild morning. The hike down is almost effortless, and it feels good to be moving around outside the plane. Not even Roy Harley is complaining, and he's carrying parts of the radio. Nando is maybe 200 yards from the tail when he spots a red leather bag sticking up out of the snow.

He recognizes it immediately. It's his mother's cosmetics bag. He runs over to it, hoping there might be something personal of hers inside. A piece of jewelry or a photo. But when he opens it, he finds only a tube of lipstick, a box of lemon cough drops, and a small sewing kit. Still, all three items will be helpful on the final trek.

Nando will use the lipstick to protect his lips against the sun, the cough drops to fight off thirst, and the sewing kit to fix any tears in the blankets they've made from the Fairchild seat covers. He says a silent word of thanks to his mother, then zips the bag shut and puts it in his knapsack. After all of the boys reach the tail, they take a short rest from the hike.

Then Nando lifts one of the batteries down from the overhead bin and encourages Roy and Roberto get to work. There are 67 wires sticking out of each half of the radio. Nando knows that trying to match up the wires is going to take a lot of time they don't have. But now he's really hoping that Roberto is right. If it works, this could be their ticket to rescue.

It's been two days since Roy Harley started working on the Fairchilds radio. Nando and Tintin were so tired of watching the trial and error, they went back to the fuselage for a supply run. Roy laughs. They won't even be here when the radio turns on. He looks down at the last two wires in his hands and says a small prayer. Then he connects them, twisting them together. This is the moment of truth.

He waves to Roberto, calling him over. For a brief moment, both of them just stare at the radio. Then Roy plugs in the headphones and turns the dial. Nothing. Not even static. Roy doesn't want to sulk. And he did bring Marcelo's transmitter radio with him. And that's working better than ever. So he decides to turn that on. At least they have music.

So he and Roberto start listening to a rock station based in Santiago. Roy has the volume turned up so loud that he doesn't even hear Nando and Tintin returning from their supply run to the fuselage. When Nando asks for an update, Roy reaches over and turns the volume down. Then he points to a copper wire that runs from the transistor radio outside into the snow.

We took some wiring out of the plane and made an aerial antenna. Now we get stations from Chile, Argentina, and Uruguay. But the Fairchild's plane's radio is still dead. After a quick lunch break, Roy and Roberto get back to work. But then he hears a ticker tape sound effect on the radio. It's introducing a news bulletin. He signals for the others to be quiet. His heart starts beating double time as he listens to the broadcaster's announcement.

The Uruguayan Air Force is resuming its search for the missing Fairchild plane. Roy leaps up and rushes outside. His mind is racing. He needs to make a sign, something the pilots will see from the air. He grabs one suitcase in each hand and runs with them to a wide, clear bed of snow behind the tail. He yells for the others to help. "Let's make a cross, an enormous cross. Come on, guys!"

As they arrange the luggage, Roy tries to gauge his friend's reaction to the news. Roberto is smiling ear to ear, and Tintin is whistling to himself. But Nando looks almost like he's pouting. Roy can't understand why. "Didn't you hear, Nando? We're about to be saved. What's wrong?" Nando drops another suitcase at the base of the cross. "Don't get your hopes up, Roy. They aren't looking for survivors. They're looking for wreckage."

Roy doesn't see why that matters. Even if the Air Force is looking for wreckage, it's not as though they'd turn the survivors away. Just a few days ago, Roy thought he was on death's door. But now, he sees a nice, long life unfurling in front of him. While he constructs the giant cross, he imagines himself at home, hugging and kissing his family. He's not about to let Nando's skepticism spoil the moment.

Roy has a new level of excitement and desire to live. All he has to do now is wait for the cavalry to arrive. This season, Instacart has your back-to-school. As in, they've got your back-to-school lunch favorites, like snack packs and fresh fruit. And they've got your back-to-school supplies, like backpacks, binders, and pencils. And they've got your back when your kid casually tells you they have a huge school project due tomorrow.

Nando wakes to find Roberto sitting cross-legged, fiddling with the wires from the plane's radio.

They've been camped at the tail of the Fairchild for three days, and it's been 24 hours since they heard a new search mission is looking for the wreckage. Nando hopes that the news will help convince Roberto to abandon the broken radio. It's time to head back to the fuselage. They need to tell the others the search is back on. He leans over and puts a hand on Roberto's shoulder. Face it, Roberto, it can't be fixed.

Reluctantly, Roberto nods. Roy asks if he can have just a minute before they head out. There's something I want to do before we leave. Nando watches as Roy raises one knee and begins stomping on the Fairchild's radio with all his might. When he's done, there's just a tangle of plastic and wires on the floor. Roy's panting. He looks over at Nando and smiles. Man, that felt good.

Nando knows that the news of a second search team has lifted Roy's spirits, but he worries that his friend is burning through the last of his energy. Yesterday, Roy was outpacing everyone as they dragged the suitcases into the form of a cross. Today, he's bashing a high-tech radio to bits. Roy might be feeling hopeful for the first time in a long time.

But he still looks like a skeleton. If the search team doesn't find them soon, Nando fears that Roy will be in even worse shape than he was before. Nando takes a final look around the tail for anything the survivors might find useful. And then he and the others start back to the Fairchild. The sky is overcast, but the temperature is mild, and there is no wind to speak of.

Roberto and Tintin take the lead, with Nando in the middle and Roy lagging behind. They're halfway back to the fuselage when Nando feels something change in the atmosphere. The air is suddenly colder, and the clouds seem to be hanging lower in the sky. Then, without warning, a gust of wind hits them with such force that he staggers backward and nearly falls.

At this point, they've lived through so many storms on this mountain, but this one is coming with a force he's never felt before. Soon, snow is whipping him from every direction, stinging his face and pelting the back of his neck. He shields his eyes with his hands, but the snow is so thick that he can't see anything but white. Then he hears Roberto calling to him from just a few feet ahead. Nando, where are you?

"I'm here!" Nando turns and screams into the wind. "Roy, are you okay?" There's no response. Nando shouts again. Then he spots a large gray mound in the snow, maybe 20 feet away. Roy has fallen. He doesn't appear to be moving. "Come on, Roy! This storm will kill us!" Roy doesn't budge. Nando walks to him, fighting the wind with every step.

When he gets close enough, he sees that Roy hasn't just fallen. He's curled up in a fetal position, lying on his side and hugging his knees to his chest. Nando bends down and grabs his arm. "What the hell are you doing, Roy? Let's go!" Roy shakes his head. "I'm too weak! Just leave me!" Nando tries pulling Roy to his feet, but Roy just hangs there like dead weight.

This isn't the Roy who just an hour earlier stomped the Fairchild's radio to bits. This is the Roy Nando remembers from the days after the avalanche. This Roy has no will to fight. Instead of pity, Nando feels himself swelling with rage. What right does Roy have to give up? And why should Nando risk his life saving someone who wants to die? He turns and starts to walk away.

but then he changes his mind. "Get up, Roy. Move your ass." "I can't." Nando's had enough. He rears back and gives Roy a hard kick to the shoulder. "You want me to tell your mother that you quit? That she wasn't enough to live for? Get up!" Roy curls up into a small ball, and with each gust of wind, he's buried deeper in the snow.

Nando kicks him again. He curses him. He shoves him and pushes him until eventually Roy gets to his feet. Nando pushes him forward. Chunks of ice blow past Roy and lash at Nando's face. The storm is getting worse by the second. "Walk! Walk!" Roy is weeping. He takes a step and Nando pushes him again. Roy stumbles. Themer gains his balance.

Nando tells him to think of his mother. He keeps pushing him and cursing him all the way back to the fuselage, where finally they collapse onto the floor and gasp for air. Even as he lies there recovering, Nando is thinking about the long trek west. What will he do if a storm like that one hits and there is no plane to retreat to? No shelter anywhere. How will he survive?

There are some things he knows he can't prepare for, but he also knows that now they're sure the radio doesn't work. Hiking out is their only chance at survival. It's the morning of December 7th, nearly two months since the Fairchild crashed, and Nando sits in the plane, fuming,

Ever since they gave up on the radio, Nando has been preparing for his original plan. Head west over the mountain peak into the Chilean foothills. He and Tintin have been packed and ready to leave for days, but Roberto keeps finding reasons to postpone the expedition. First, he told Nando that Roy Harley and the others were too sick. As the only survivor with some medical training, he was obligated to look after them a while longer.

Then, Roberto claimed that he was feeling weak himself and needed a few days to rest up. Now, he wants to wait for the weather to improve. Nando has had enough. He dreads a confrontation with the famously hot-tempered Roberto, but they can't delay any longer. Roberto is right in one sense. Roy and many of the other survivors are down to skin and bones.

Nando knows that if they don't climb for help soon, more of their friends will die. He finds Roberto sitting outside the fuselage. "The meat is cut and our supplies are packed, Roberto. We need to leave." Roberto shakes his head. He reminds Nando of the bulletin they heard on the radio. The Uruguayan Air Force has resumed its search for the missing Fairchild. "They've just started looking for us again. Let's give them time."

Nando wants to know how much time. Roberto asks for 10 days. Nando is beside himself. He fights off an urge to hit Roberto in the face. "You can't be serious. We're running out of food. In 10 days, half of us will be dead." Roberto's jaw clenches. "Have you forgotten what it's like to be out there at night with no shelter? You'd rather die in the mountains than give the rescue team a chance?"

Nando reminds Roberto that the Air Force isn't sending out a rescue team. They're sending out a crew to look for wreckage. A crew that has no chance of finding them. How many planes, Nando asks, have flown directly over the crash site? The Fairchild is a white dot set against an endless white backdrop. They could wait a hundred days and no one would spot them.

But Nando knows that Roberto is too stubborn to back down, unless his demands are at least partially met. "I'll wait five days. That's it. I'm leaving on the 12th, with or without you." Roberto stands and steps so close to Nando that their toes are nearly touching. "You're a stupid bastard, Nando." They face off for a minute longer before Nando turns and walks away. What else can happen in five days?

His mind starts to wander as he examines the gaunt faces of his fellow survivors. Who else will die before he leaves? Carlitos Paez raises his hand and the survivors start a chorus of Happy Birthday. It's December 9th, 1972, Nando's 23rd birthday.

It's also three days before the expeditionary's planned departure, if Roberto doesn't postpone again. Carlitos, like many of the others, had become frustrated with Roberto. He feels that if he'd been chosen as the expeditionary instead of Roberto, they'd be in Chile by now. They'd be celebrating Nando's birthday in a restaurant in Santiago. Carlitos has a surprise he's been saving, though. A cigar he found in the luggage.

When the singing stops, he whips it out and hands it to Nando. Nando grins and puts a cigar in his mouth. Carlitos holds out a lighter. It's a genuine Cuban. To celebrate your birthday and also your success. I know that you'll make it, Nando. We'll be home in time for Christmas. He watches Nando blow out smoke. He was talking to Nando, but his words were also aimed at Roberto. Roberto is the holdup. Nando would have left days ago.

Carlitos wants Roberto to know that popular opinion is with Nando. They can't delay any longer. He looks at Roberto and tries to make eye contact. But Roberto is busy sucking in smoke from Nando's cigar. As he nods off that night, Carlitos wonders what it will take to get him climbing. The next morning, Carlitos wakes to find Nando sitting in the back of the fuselage, his head between his knees.

Nando, are you okay? Nando answers in a whisper. Numa's dead. Carlitos bolts upright and asks Nando what happened. He fell into a coma late last night. He died in his sleep. Is it because he wouldn't eat? Nando nods. Carlitos hadn't known Numa before the crash, but in the time they'd spent together, he'd grown to admire Numa's physical strength and gentle nature.

He was one of the kindest people Carlitos had ever met. Carlitos can't bear the thought that Numa died because he was so kind and gentle, because he was one of the few survivors who couldn't bring himself to eat human flesh. Most days, he refused his ration, and he would only eat when forced. Carlitos knows that Numa will not be the last to die. They need to get off this mountain.

He looks over at Nando and sees he's thinking the same thing. Together, they go outside and find Roberto sitting in one of the Fairchild's broken seats. There are tears in his eyes. Before Carlitos can say anything, Roberto waves him off. "We'll leave first thing tomorrow. We can't wait any longer." Carlitos nods. For the first time, it dawns on him that the dead now outnumber the living.

If this expedition doesn't work, he doubts there will be anyone left to save. This is the third episode of our four-part series, Plane Crash in the Andes. A quick note about our scenes. In most cases, we can't know exactly what was said, but everything is based on historical research. If you'd like to learn more about this event, we highly recommend the book Alive by Pierce Paul Reed.

I'm your host, Cassie DePeckel. Chris Narosny wrote this episode. Edited by Matt Wise and Maura Waltz. Audio engineer is Sergio Enriquez. Sound design is by Joe Richardson. Music by Isabel Hirschman. Production coordinator is Desi Blaylock. Produced by Brian White, Matt Olmos, Emily Frost, and Alita Rozanski. Managing producer is Matt Gant. Senior managing producer is Ryan Lohr.

Senior producer is Andy Herman. Executive producers are Jenny Lauer Beckman, Stephanie Jens, and Marsha Louis for Wondery. I'm Dan Taberski. In 2011, something strange began to happen at the high school in Leroy, New York. I was like at my locker and she came up to me and she was like stuttering super bad. I'm like, stop f***ing around. She's like...

I can't. A mystery illness, bizarre symptoms, and spreading fast. It's like doubling and tripling, and it's all these girls. With a diagnosis the state tried to keep on the down low. Everybody thought I was holding something back. Well, you were holding something back intentionally. Yeah, yeah, well, yeah. Yeah.

No, it's hysteria. It's all in your head. It's not physical. Oh my gosh, you're exaggerating. Is this the largest mass hysteria since The Witches of Salem? Or is it something else entirely? Something's wrong here. Something's not right. Leroy was the new Dateline and everyone was trying to solve the murder. A new limited series from Wondery and Pineapple Street Studios. Hysterical.

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