Menu Button

The Valley of Tears

On Friday 13th October 1972 a plane carrying a young rugby team, and family members from Uruguay, crashed in the Andes mountains.
What happened over the following 72 days has become one of the most famous stories of human survival and courage in the face of adversity.
Extreme storms frequently occur in the mountains at that time of the year. The plane began what should have been its descent to Santiago, Chile, but due to pilot error Flight 571 was tragically still in the middle of the Andes mountains. When the snowstorm finally cleared, it was too late to avert disaster.
The plane hit one of the many peaks, and the tail and both wings were ripped off. Some died instantly. Others were mortally injured.
The fuselage, like a giant cigar tube, slid at incredible speed down a steep gulley, miraculously missing huge rocks and boulders on its way down.
Finally coming to rest on a glacier in a place known as the Valley of Tears.
The passengers were dressed in light summer clothes and many of them had never even seen snow before.
It was the middle of the Andes winter.
For ten days they waited for help to come.
There was little food on the plane. They strictly rationed what they had, but it was becoming apparent to all of them that they would die if help did not come soon.
When the survivors heard on a little transistor radio that the search for them had been called off, they had to take the dreadful decision to use the bodies of their dead friends for food.
After two months, and still with no sign of rescue, their situation was becoming ever more desperate.
They were all coming closer and closer to death. Some had lost half of their body weight.
So two of the strongest and bravest young men decided to make the hazardous journey over the mountain peaks. They agreed that if they were going to die, then they might as well die trying to get help.
Nando Parrado and Roberto Canessa risked their lives climbing high peaks and stumbling down steep slopes, not knowing where they were, but always heading Westwards towards Chile.
Sleeping behind boulders and digging out snow caves they survived night temperatures down to -30C.
After 10 days and more than 30 miles of climbing and scrambling, without proper clothing, food or equipment, they were eventually found by a cattle herdsman who alerted the authorities.
16 young men survived the ordeal.
29 men, women and boys died, and are buried in a mass grave on the mountain.

In 2015 John was awakened one night by a dream.
He was in the Andes mountains.
Incredibly, he saw himself as one of the survivors, sitting outside the broken fuselage of the plane.
He was there. It was all very real.

John believed this to be a message for him to write about the disaster.
And so began the Andes project titled "The Valley of Tears"

Initially two songs were written and recorded, and sent to Nando Parrado, in Montevideo.
Nando’s courage, along with his friend Roberto, saved the lives of the other 14 survivors.
Nando and his family were moved to tears when the songs brought back to him all that he had endured.
In correspondence with John, Nando suggested that he might wish to go up to the Valley of Tears and visit the crash site, and the grave where his mother and sister and so many of his friends are buried.

From December to March it is possible to go by horseback up into the High Andes.
It is a difficult and dangerous journey, crossing swollen rivers and climbing narrow and steep pathways, relying on the horses to keep their footing.

The grave and memorial cross lie at 12,500 feet in the high Andes mountains.
It is both a magnificent and a malevolent place to be.
The mountains seem to be watching you.
There is still evidence to be seen: the plane’s wheels, seats, metal struts and cables, rugby boots and clothing.

So in December 2022 John flew to Argentina and joined a small expedition to the Valley of Tears.
Leading the group were Ricardo Peña, an experienced mountain guide who had made the trip on numerous occasions, and Eduardo Strauch, who was one of the 16 survivors of the Andes disaster.

Ricardo (left), Eduardo (centre), John (right)

For many years Eduardo has made a pilgrimage to the grave site, to pay his respects and to remember his friends who died on the mountain.
2022 was the 50th anniversary of the crash and so was particularly poignant.
It was a privilege to be in the company of one of the survivors and to hear at first hand of the hardships they had to endure.

John took his acoustic guitar up into the mountains and played his songs to the expedition group.
It was the trip of a lifetime and had a profound effect on him to be in that place of rock, ice, snow, beauty and sadness.

Two further songs have been written following the trip, and more are planned.

The CD "The Valley of Tears" can be purchased or downloaded from the Shop.