'02 Mtn Cat 800 Issue

I have an '02 800 Mtn Cat, completely stock, 1000 original miles. I rode it about 65 miles on saturday and it ran great. It sat outside overnight at the cabin and got snowed on and in the morning it started up just fine, but it didn't want to engage the track. I let it warm it for over 10 minutes. I could get the RPMs, but the clutch didn't want to grab the belt and go. It burned off/scraped off some of the belt so I switch to a new belt. Didn't make much difference but finally it took off. I pretty much had to pin it to get going and finally it grabbed. After I rode it a bit it seemed to be back to normal. It just seemed like something was froze?? Any ideas?

That was my guess too. Is there anything I can do to help break it free in the mornings? Is there any risk of damage? It sure didn't feel good having to force it to run. Thanks for the feedback!