I have said quite a bit about the Ilyusion IL 76 that is the mainstay of what happens in our corner of Antarctica, but that isn’t the only little machine that makes all the projects tick.
There are a few more vehicles that, for the lack of a better explanation, are larger than life.
The Perfect Parking Lot
Modified “Hilux for the Ice” is my natural favourite.
This incredible vehicle was made famous the world over when Jeremy Clarkson and his mates raced to the North Pole in a red one. Orders apparently started streaming in and now even you can buy one. For 100 000 euro you can drive one wherever you want because to be absolutely honest there is not much stopping you.
The Dashboard
One only needs to look at the accessory panel to realize what a crazy car this is. Compressors, heaters, winches, auxillary pumps, other pumps, fuel tank isolators and the list goes on.
A real collection of accesories
The modifications for the ice are actually crucial because without them they would just slide around and look like toys. One of the major aspects of the conversion is obviously the size of the tyres and the raised suspension. Each tyre has 437 metal studs that get drilled into them which have the same effect as crampons on ice.
The pilots are all Icelandic and if they are representative of the whole of Iceland, well then I think Iceland has the most helpful, friendliest nation on earth. Yeah, sure, they have volcanoes that mess up flight patterns in Europe, but they are awesome.
Arctic trucks are a team we will never forget. They winched our man out of a crevasse, they fixed our skidoos, they started our heaters, they fixed our skidoos again, they supplied Vodka and they did it all with a smile on their face. Big thanks to Gisli, Ayo, Frere, Gisli , Hlynar and Ghumi
