Runewolf1973

Now that I have a winch, I'm just wondering how a person (with no other vehicles around) would winch themselves out of a big snow drift on the middle of a frozen lake. Was thinking I could maybe just use an ice auger to make two holes a couple feet apart then put a recovery strap through both holes to use as an anchor? Would this work? Got any suggestions?

Bucko

Sounds disasterous. Don't wanna compromise the integrity of the ice (I guess unless its super thick) especially if your pulling your Jeep toward that direction... or if you do, at least record it on video.

I'd find a local Wheeler to use his rig as an anchor point

Runewolf1973

Sorry, I should have specified... I was only considering that as a possible last resort type option if and when the ice was a good, solid 3 feet thick or so...and only after getting out the shovel failed first.

w squared

If you have a shovel and you've on a frozen lake, you're not REALLY stuck. After all....you're on a flat surface, and the only thing complicating the situation is snow. You can move snow with a shovel. You may not enjoy the process, but if you just keep shovelling, you'll get unstuck.

Runewolf1973

I guess I was looking for an excuse to use my winch. You're right, the shovel will work.

Black and Tan

As a combat engineer, we build ice bridges every now and then. It's a simple process but a real PITA. I woudn't recommend driving on an iced lake or river that hasn't been prepared. But if you do anyways, this is what I recommend.

If the ice is thick enough (8'' +) I would say definitely try it. Use a long Chain or tow strap to loop in the holes. You want the holes to be 2 to 3 feet apart no more. The longer the strap or chain the better.

If you can't make holes, and the ice has a few feet of snow on it, make a dead man anchor. Look those up, they can be used in winter and summer. With a bit of luck you can probably even find an army engineering manual (declassified or not secret of course) in which you have specs on how to dig them and how much of a load they can handle depending on the ground type.

Again, I don't recommend driving on iced lakes or rivers...at all. You could lose your rig and your life.




Hope this helps.

zech80

These are ice anchors used for personal ice rescue. They are really easy to put in the ice they just screw in. I dont know the actually capacity of them but I bet with like 5 of them together you could pull a jeep out.

SnowboundJK

If you do use some kind of anchor like that, make sure you put your hood up when winching. Man, that thing would take your head off if it pulled free!

I won't go on the ice if there is more than a foot of snow. Buy an old sled for ice fishing, or get ready to shovel!

Black and Tan

I don`t see why the ice screws would'nt work in perfect conditions. But perfect conditions never happen...

1 Kn is 224.8lbs (kn = KiloNewton)

These ice screws have been tested many times and in some (few) cases they can hold up to 22kn each. Most of the time it was anywhere between 2kn to 12kn

22 x 224.8lbs = 4945.6lbs

Say you have 5 ice screws and perfect conditions:

4945.6lbs x 5 = 24728lbs

How much can your winch pull?


The main issues I have with using these is that they would make for some very dangerous and sharp and pointy projectiles if they fail.

Also, they were designed to be used with carabiners which are usually rated at or around 22kn or around 5000lbs.

So you would have to screw 5 ice screws, clip in 5 carabiners to 5 slings to a D ring to the hook on your winch. A general rule in rock and ice climbing is that the more gear you add to a system, the higher the risk of having one of those item failing.

I would definetely try the ice auger before trying this.

Runewolf1973

That helps a lot! Thanks. I go ice fishing with my dad sometimes and he usually just takes his Dodge Ram truck which gets around pretty good, but last year there was too much snow to be driving all around the lake anyways....was thinking a winch might come in handy though. I generally wait till middle of the (ice fishing) seaon after everyone else has driven on the lake, then I know it's pretty safe to drive around. On average the lakes up here get really thick ice 32" plus, and only guys in snowmobiles ever drive on a frozen river around here. My rule is to never drive on an untested lake....let someone else go first.

One year we were walking the bike path along the river and seen these teenagers in a lifted Toyota pickup that tried to take their rig out on the ice. It was very close to spring already and all the ice was starting to get soft. They got 150 feet downstream and got their truck seriously stuck in the ice. The tow truck was called in, but was unsuccessful at getting them out. The tow truck company ended up calling the local Jeep club and they brought out this HUGE Jeep with something like 49" tires and a winch that pulled them out with ease. It still ended up costing them $2000 in towing fees and another $1500 fine for environmental damages. So yeah, I don't drive on frozen rivers....let alone half thawed ones.