Appreciation post: My Polaris 850 got stuck in a creek bed near Eagle River

I was riding a trail outside Eagle River last weekend and took a turn too wide, dropping the front skis into a frozen creek bed (it was about two feet deep). The track just spun on the ice and I couldn't rock it out. I ended up using my tow strap, hooking it to a solid birch tree about 15 feet away, and giving it slow, steady throttle in reverse. It took maybe ten minutes of careful pulling, but she came right out without any damage. Anyone have a better trick for getting unstuck from ice like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

barbara912mo ago

That creek bed sounds familiar. I had a similar thing happen years ago on an old Tundra, but it was more mud than ice. We ended up using a come-along winch from the truck because we were way off trail. Your tree strap method is smart, slow and steady is always better than just spinning the track. Makes me wonder if carrying a small bag of sand or gravel in the storage box would help for ice, just to toss under the skis for a bit of bite.

fiona_clark2mo ago

Slow and steady is a good way to burn out a belt or overheat. Sometimes you just need to gun it and let the lugs find their own bite. That tree strap method sounds like a lot of extra work for a simple stuck.

the_pat2mo ago

Gunning it is a great way to get really, really stuck. @fiona_clark, you ever just bury a machine to the frame doing that? Slow pull with a strap is way less work than digging out a rig that's dug itself a hole. Plus, you're not just roasting your belt or slinging ice chunks at your buddy. Barbara's sand idea is solid for ice, but sometimes you just need that anchor point.