If you ever take your snowmobile off a groomed trail, you run the risk of getting stuck. And usually, the easiest way to get unstuck is to have someone pull on a ski. But there are other options.
Depending on the type of snow, depth of snow, type of terrain, number of riding buddies and size/strength of the rider, each situation offers multiple options to getting unstuck.
But what happens when you’re by yourself, you’re not big and strong and the option of muscling your sled out of its snow tomb seems bleak? Now how do you get out?
One option is to dig. Another may be to lift
There is a product called Powder Jack that is designed to get you out of a hole without requiring digging or a lot of strength. Just like jacking up a car to change a tire, the Powder Jack is designed to lift the rear of your snowmobile high enough that you can simply push it out of the hole.
Here’s what you do. Remove the Powder Jack from its tunnel-mounted bag and assemble its 80-inch pole (five threaded segments). With the pole on a base and located at the back of the snowmobile, strap the jack to your rear bumper and begin jacking up the rear of the snowmobile.
Once the track clears the trench it created, simply push the rear sideways and the jack will tip, leaving the back of the sled on top of the snow. Then you can disassemble the jack, put it back in its bag and ride away.
This saves your back from lifting and shoveling.
This past spring we took one out to just see how easy it is to use. (Please ignore the fact that the photos show us demonstrating its use in hardpack snow conditions. We really had to work at getting a snowmobile stuck in a trench so we could jack it up.)
The Powder Jack retails for $339.95. For more information call (970) 403-8881 or go to www.powderjack.com.