After shuttling over 100,000 people over 30 years on the stretch between Antarctica’s McMurdo Station and the neighboring airfield, the venerable Ivan the Terra Bus has finally retired. Made by the Canadian manufacturer Foremost to handle rugged, icy terrain, Ivan was able to power through even fierce blizzards without punching through the sea ice below him, despite his massive size and bulk. A beloved fixture of America’s coastal station on the southernmost continent, Ivan was often a traveler’s first sight after stepping off the plane in Antarctica.
Strangely enough, exactly where that traveler would step off depended on the sea ice itself. The airfield is carved out of that ice, normally near the actual shore a fifteen-minute drive away from McMurdo. However, if the ice wasn’t stable, the airfield would be carved out at a second site an hour’s ride away. It’s one thing when you feel like the drive to the airport is taking forever, but it’s another when the airport isn’t where you left it.
Ivan wasn’t alone in his shuttling duties. He was joined by a whole fleet of other heavy trucks, light trucks, and vans, over 100 in all, not even counting construction vehicles and snowmobiles. But over the years, with his signature red and white livery and his unforgettable name, Ivan became as much a citizen of McMurdo as any of the staff or scientists there. He will be missed.
The terror of the Terra Bus
Designed with isolated, far-northern oil fields in mind, the Foremost Terra Bus is a monster of ground transportation, like a whale on land, only bigger, heavier, and slower. With a tare weight of 54,000 pounds, a length of over 45 feet, and a width of over 12 feet, Ivan was an imposing presence, dwarfing the other vehicles he served alongside. He was an incredible performance machine, too: His 300-horsepower engine could achieve (can you feel the speed?) up to 20 mph and rev up to (can you hear it?) 2200 rpm after a brief 30-60 minute warmup. Ferrari must be quivering in fear.
Each of the six tires would be run at very low pressures, under 20 psi and even into single digits. That would spread out Ivan’s massive weight, plus the weight of his 56 passengers, enough to keep from falling straight into the sea below the ice. That helped Ivan power through not just the icy terrain, but the sometimes pummeling blizzards. So when you absolutely, positively needed to get somewhere at the bottom of the world, Ivan would get it done, no matter what. Just not quickly.
For the love of Ivan
Is it weird to love a bus? Maybe it was just the name (a pun off of the famous Russian tsar, Ivan the Terrible), but Ivan turned into something of a mascot for McMurdo station, especially to the people who lived there. According to Atlas Obscura, when he first arrived in the Antarctic in 1993, the residents of the station held a vote to name him, because why would you not name such a big red monstrosity? John Wright, the engineer who designed the snow road from McMurdo to the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, came up with the pun, which won the vote. He’s been a friend to the station ever since, even immortalized in his own song (check out the YouTube video above).
Over the years, Ivan took on a lot of personality, with various stickers adorning his interior wooden panels and even taking on a name for his first dent, Charlie’s Folly. But love doesn’t pay the maintenance bills, and with parts for the elderly vehicle getting more expensive and President Donald Trump’s budget cuts reaching the Antarctic Program, the time finally came to put Ivan out to pasture. Indeed, at first, it looked like Ivan might be put up for auction towards who knew what destiny.
However, today Ivan resides in splendor in Christchurch, New Zealand, a lovely place to retire. The U.S. National Science Foundation, which funds the Antarctic Program, is still deciding what to do with him, but the hope is that he’ll eventually make his way to a museum. Enjoy the rest, Ivan. You earned it.
