The Tragic Tale of Society of the Snow: Unveiling the Terrifying Remoteness of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571

The Mystery of the Crash Location

Society of the Snow, J.A. Bayona's faithful retelling of the 1972 Andes flight disaster, centers around a terrible plane crash, yet \/u2013 perhaps understandably \/u2013 it isn't always clear exactly where the crash took place. The movie tells the story of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571, which tragically crashed on October 13 1972, leaving the survivors stranded for 72 days on the exposed Andean mountain slopes.

A group of survivors raise their arms around the fuselage of a crashed plane in the Andes mountains in Society of the Snow.

Of the 40 passengers and five crew members present on board, only 16 survived the ordeal. Battling bitterly cold weather, horrific injuries, and utter isolation, the passengers were eventually forced to resort to cannibalism to stave off their hunger. Such an extreme response under the circumstances, coupled with an inspirational story of survival, goes some of the way towards explaining why the story of Flight 571 continues to exert such a powerful hold over many people's imagination. However, it is only in understanding the terrifying remoteness of the real crash that the full scale of the Society of the Snow true story becomes clear.

Trailer Stills From Netflix's Society Of The Snow

The Valley of Tears: A Remote and Tragic Location

The real crash in Society of the Snow actually took place at the so-called 'Valle de las L\u00e1grimas' \/u2013 a.k.a. The Valley of Tears. Despite the plane's original final destination of Santiago in Chile, the Valley of Tears is actually in a remote part of Argentina's Mendoza province in the Andes. At the time, the valley and its glacier were actually unnamed, taking on the 'Tears' moniker in the aftermath of the accident.

Society of the Snow's Poster

The remoteness of the crash site was a huge factor in the tragedy that followed. The location lies between several imposing peaks, including the 4,280 metre (14,040 ft) high Tinguiririca volcano and the 4,650 metre (15,260 ft) high Mount Seler, just east of the Chilean border. However, despite its undoubted inaccessibility, the location was not actually as remote as it originally appeared. Tragically, the survivors were unaware that they were just 13 miles away from the abandoned Hotel Termas El Sosneado, a former hot springs resort that would have provided some shelter. However, thanks to the valley's distinctive geography, it was impossible to know just how close this was without a huge slice of luck.

Two men embrace and cheer at the sky in Society of the Snow.

The Chilling Altitude and Rescue Challenges

Although the lack of food and major injuries sustained by many passengers presented an obvious challenge, perhaps the survivors' greatest obstacle was the altitude of the crash site. The plane was so high up in the mountains that the group had to endure temperatures as low as minus 30 degrees Celsius, despite it being summer. Given that they had no suitable winter clothing, their chances were slim from the outset.

Trailer Stills From Netflix's Society Of The Snow

The altitude also made any rescue attempts incredibly difficult. Searching on foot simply wasn't an option, meaning that authorities had to use their own planes to search for the survivors. In fact, in the immediate aftermath, several planes flew directly over the site but were unable to make out the plane's white wreckage against the snow. This makes the real story of Society of the Snow even more tragic, as there could potentially have been a very different outcome.

Images From Society Of The Snow Trailer And Ethan Hawke in Alive 1993