A link is found between the variability of Fram Strait sea ice export and the phase of zonal wave 1 in SLP for the period 1958--1997. Previous studies have found that the link between ice export through Fram Strait and the NAO is inconsistent over time scales longer than the last two decades. Inconsistent and low correlations are also found between Fram Strait ice export and the AO index. The phase of zonal wave 1 explains 60%--70% of the simulated ice export variance after the removal of two anomalous phases in 1966 and 1967. Unlike the NAO and AO links, these high variances are consistent for both the first and second halves of the 40-year period. This consistency is attributed to the sensitivity of wave-1 phase to the presence of secondary low pressure systems in the Barents Sea that serve to drive Arctic sea ice southward through Fram Strait.