Man has always strived to create devices and machines to traverse all kinds of harsh environments. From dog sleds to huge “tundra trains” the frozen ice caps of planet Earth have always presented themselves as an alluring challenge for engineers, designers, and even ironman drivers who want to test their mettle against the worst conditions we know. Like all old footage of vehicles being put through their paces, this one is cool. The Tucker Sno-Cats really traversed Antarctica in 1955 and faced several harrowing circumstances like the one shown in the still photo.

The footage is pretty awesome and there is enough stuff happening that we watched it a couple times to see it all. Just consider the sheer balls necessary to even come up with the idea of shipping all this stuff to the most dangerous place on Earth, let alone actually making the trip.

These trucks were typically powered by six cylinder Chrysler engines and used truck axles fore and aft. They obviously made some grunt as you’ll see the sleds of supplies and fuel they pulled behind them.

Our favorite part? Actually seeing how the guys extricated the trucks from nearly plunging into the Antarctic ice…multiple times!