The Antarctic Snow Cruiser and Other Mysteries Lost to the Frozen Wastes
Feb 04, 2025

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It’s the only uninhabited continent in the world. Antarctica. Even the word has an aura of mystery to it. Over the years, Antarctica has been the center of several mysteries, like the strange disappearance of the Antarctic Snow Cruiser, which is now folklore. It’s time to journey into the history of this icy southern land to unfold three mysterious tales lost to the frozen wastes of Antarctica.
The Antarctic Snow Cruiser
Nobody at the Research Foundation of the Armour Institute of Technology found Dr. Thomas Poulter’s design of a rugged and durable weatherproof monstrosity on wheels anything less than unique. The Antarctic Snow Cruiser was 56 feet long, 19 feet wide and 16 feet high, with treadless Goodyear tires standing 10 feet tall and weighing 37 tons loaded. It was the biggest of all Antarctic vehicles, and building it was an ambitious and expensive undertaking.
It took only 11 weeks to complete its construction in 1939, just months after Germany invaded Poland to start World War II. With the war of no consequence in the U.S., Poulter fired up the diesel-powered monster for its inaugural journey from Chicago to Byrd’s Little America base in Boston. The 1,000-mile trip would take just under three weeks.
Safely in Boston, after spending three days in an Ohio creek after sliding off the road, the Snow Cruiser experienced more difficulties while loading for its voyage to Antarctica. The crew had to remove its rear section before loading it onto its North Star transport vessel. While there had been cars in Antarctica and other Arctic exploration vehicles before, none resembled the Snow Cruiser, and nobody realized the difficulties of getting it to the wasteland continent.
Arrival in the Antarctic
Exactly two months later, the North Star, carrying the partly disassembled Snow Cruiser, steered into the icy Antarctic Bay of Whales harbor. The Snow Cruiser had more struggles unloading, with Poulter accelerating heavily to reach the Ross Ice Shelf. Its treadless tires didn’t fare well in soft snow, and its driver abandoned the Snow Cruiser’s maiden Antarctic journey soon after it began.
Exactly two months later, the North Star, carrying the partly disassembled Snow Cruiser, steered into the icy Antarctic Bay of Whales harbor. The Snow Cruiser had more struggles unloading, with Poulter accelerating heavily to reach the Ross Ice Shelf. Its treadless tires didn’t fare well in soft snow, and its driver abandoned the Snow Cruiser’s maiden Antarctic journey soon after it began.
Plan B saw the expensive design quickly converted into stationary living and working quarters near the harbor. The U.S. Antarctic Service Expedition ended within the same year, leaving the Snow Cruiser alone at its Little America II site. Several future expeditions saw the Snow Cruiser in its original spot at Little America III. In 1963, the U.S. icebreaker, USS Edisto, spotted an iceberg containing remnants of the Little America III camp, with no sign of the Snow Cruiser.
What Happened to the Snow Cruiser?
Was the Atlantic Snow Cruiser found? Not yet. You might think that somebody may have provided information about its current location in the six decades since the 1963 camp sighting. Rumors are that the Soviet Union somehow annexed the giant vehicle from its Little America III resting place during the Cold War.
It is more likely that the Snow Cruiser broke away at the same time as the camp did and is buried deep within a roving iceberg or settled beneath the icy Antarctic depths for eternity. Its disappearance may forever be an Antarctic mystery.
The Chilean Bones
In the 1980s, human remains were discovered in the Antarctic, prompting unanswered questions. Chilean biologist Dr. Daniel Torres found the bones while carrying out a census of mammals at Cape Shirreff on Livingston Island, part of the South Shetland Islands off the Antarctic Peninsula. That’s not so strange, you might think, except that, on analysis, the skull and femur were found to be over 170 years old at the time.
Scientists found the bones belonged to a young indigenous Chilean woman, likely about 21 years old. How she’d ended up on an Antarctic beach over 620 miles from where she originated baffled them and still does 40 years later. Even more surprising is that this young woman would have been among the first people to set foot in Antarctica.
Time-honored Chilean bark canoes couldn’t handle a rough ocean journey of that magnitude. Explanations for the young adult’s monumental expedition to the frost South Shetlands are few and far between.
How Did the Chilean Bones Get There?
Mysterious as the bone discovery is, several theories remain. Chilean researchers believe the woman could have been a local guide for Northern Hemisphere sealers seeking their fortune in the recently discovered South Shetland and other nearby Antarctic Islands. These sealers built relationships with local Chileans. They bartered seal skins but also frequently had altercations with the indigenous people.
It is conceivable that the sealers abducted the woman from her home beach and took her along on their journey, leaving her on Cape Shirreff beach. This explanation remains the most logical, but the 1819 sinking of a Spanish war vessel, the San Telmo, off the Livingston Island coast ties in well with the bones’ dateline. Could she have been one of the 644 people who perished? If so, how did an indigenous Chilean girl end up on a Spanish warship?
While both theories remain, the second seems implausible. It makes you think about what might actually be happening on that ship you watch on the horizon. What do you think happened? Was the young Chilean lady onboard, or was her body already on the South Shetland shore?
The Ran Underwater Explorer
The Antarctic continues to create mysteries. As recently as February 2024, the freezing depths claimed another victim. This time, the crewless underwater vehicle (AUV), Ran, mysteriously vanished underneath an Antarctic glacier.
Ran, property of Sweden’s University of Gothenburg, shouldn’t have disappeared without a trace. The 24-foot, 4,000-pound AUV could dive to a depth of 9,850 feet for 36 hours, with a maximum undersea traveling distance of 186 miles. Its manufacturers, Kongsberg Maritime A/S from Norway, had rigged Ran out with advanced navigation programs and sensors.
Although not in constant contact with its research vessel — the South Korean icebreaker, RV/IB Araon — Ran was preprogrammed to follow a route under the glacier. It was capable of finding its way back to open water should there be difficulties. On its final of several dives underneath the Thwaites Glacier, aptly known as the “Doomsday Glacier,” its enhanced technology somehow failed.
Ran’s Antarctic Mission
The Thwaites Glacier received its nickname because if it were to melt entirely, it could raise worldwide sea levels to cataclysmic levels. With the glacier already melting, Ran’s missions, beginning in 2019, were vital. Humankind needs to understand the reasons and potentially find ways to stop this melting.
Professor Anna Wåhlin of the University, the Ran project coordinator, explained. “Even if you see melting and movements in the ice from satellite data, from Ran, we get close-ups of the underside of the ice and information about exactly which mechanisms are behind the melting.”
Ran had sensors monitoring temperature, depth, and conductivity, along with multibeam echo sounders and bottom-penetrating and side scan sonars. The craft was vital to collecting data on the Doomsday Glacier. Along with a DVL Technology-supported navigation system, the AUV should never disappear, but Ran vanished without a trace.
What Are the Reasons for Ran’s Disappearance?
Nobody can currently offer a fathomable reason for Ran’s disappearance. No explanations are forthcoming, like after the 2023 implosion of the Titan submersible on a North Atlantic mission to view the Titanic wreck.
Wåhlin stated, “It’s a bit like looking for a needle in a haystack, but without even knowing where the haystack is. At this point, Ran’s batteries are dead. All we know is that something unexpected happened under the ice. We suspect it ran into trouble, and then something prevented it from getting out.”
While the University of Gothenburg intends to replace Ran, concerns remain about similar mysteries happening again. Venturing into the unknown is never simple, and unexpected results are never far away. Don’t you agree?
The Antarctic Wasteland Will Continue Producing Mysteries
From 1819 until 2024, the Antarctic confounded researchers and the public alike. Its capacity to produce mysteries that boggle the mind and fascinate people for centuries afterward is vast. Humankind’s potential for future mysteries, as it attempts to solve past ones and find further answers hidden in the frozen natural world, is also extensive. Will we ever find answers?
Do you stay in a frosty climate? While it’s not the Antarctic, these tips on equipping yourself with the top snowstorm essentials and storing your car for winter might still help you.
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