Gareth Brauteseth

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

Ilyusion Il-76

There are a few ways to get down to Antarctica.

The SA Agulhas is one.

The mother ship of all South African Antarctic research. Managed by SANAP, she has been making the voyage down to the Ice for almost 30 years. She is loved by science in South Africa and is a symbol for pioneering and a history of great research coming out of the rainbow nation.

Then, there is the Russian way…

The Ilyusion Il -76, a ship of a different kind, an air ship built for moving things. A monster machine build for transporting troops, tanks, refueling fighter jets and in times of peace, lifting scientists, and the White Desert team, to the ice.

These aeroplanes are tough, a bit like the Hilux of the skies. Making their mark in the 80’s, where they transported over 750 000 Russian troops into Afghanistan and surviving ground attack from Afghan rebels, the Ilyusion is now used by governments worldwide for research supply and anything where the ability for an aeroplane to be tough is paramount.

We will be sharing the ride with Russian scientists, a whole lot of kit, engineers and 4 pilots, who I really hope know how to fly this beast.