Self Recovery on a frozen lake

[bigreen505]

I like the idea some kind of anchor. Use an appropriate drill bit along with an 18v or 24v hammer drill (Dewalt, Milwaukee, Porter Cable, Bosch -- the Bosch is AWESOME). Alternately you could use one of the drill bits in your auger.

 

[teotwaki]

I think a power drill and constructing the V-anchor is a great approach. Google "Abalakov anchor" as it is used in mountaineering too.

 

[rezdiver]

from your description of the problem it sound to me that putting on tire chains and airing down sounds like a much much simpler proposal.

otherwise, i think your dropping a barstock through the ice idea is the easiest. that ice is pretty strong, just drill the hole and do the pulling from a hole thats a good distance away from you incase you are on a weak area or cracked ice.

 

[Desolation]

Your grandmother is awesome. Here we are with our fancy 4x4s and winches, and she got herself unstuck with some old fashioned ingenuity and elbow grease.

In her memory thank you!
I could be a bit biased but she was awesome!
Her stories of traveling the PNW (USA) spanned the teens on.
All this fancy overland stuff we take for granted...
Makes me laugh and leave more of it at home!
Flat out there is nobody that could bake a Pie like that lady.
Not nobody not no how!
Taught me to fish, helped me catch the first one, on a little creek on Mt. Hood,
now closed...

Dang it!
Got something in my eye!

 

[skysix]

What about a few ice screws linked together? They hold better than you might think!

I've tried that using 5 in a v linked together with dedicated 5/16" cable to spread the load and they all got bent/pulled free while trying to unstick a 1/2ton... Just not strong enough if below the upper ice surface by more than a few inches...

 

[chrismc]

Setting up a few stakes in a picket anchor configuration might work well. You shouldn't need more than a cordless drill, big bit, some heavy rebar, and something strong to bind the stakes together.

You could also use several anchors in a load-equalizing fashion, but this is tricky to set up properly. Most often, when people set up an "equalized" anchor they are actually just setting up a "cascaded failure" anchor (and are lucky that the one loaded anchor holds just fine). Here's some info about anchor equalization.

I wouldn't mess with the ice screws. While when used correctly and equalized, they should be strong enough, they're $$$ that'll likely get damaged. Grab some 3' pieces of 1" rebar instead. Drill a hole a little small for them, and pound 'em in 1/2 to 2/3 of their length. Angle slightly away from the load (as in the illustration). You're going to be loading in shear, so the ideal configuration is 90' to the load. However, you want them a little offset so they don't pull out. Attach a "leash" to each anchor with 5' or so slack 5-8mm cord attached to something. This will ensure that if the anchor does pull out under load, it will not go flying very far (like towards you).

You can attach several together in the picket configuration. Set several stakes 3' or so apart (more distance may be needed depending on ice strength). Tie them together with a loop of strong rope, and then grab a stick or something and insert it into the loop and twist it to pretension the pickets (like tightening a turnbuckle). If the stick is pointy, just stab it into the ground (YMMV on ice) so the tension stays set. The farther apart they are, the more tightening they will need. You want them just tight enough to ensure that when the front one is loaded then the load is transferred back. You could even set up a pyramid of them going back in a 'V". It might look like a set of bowling pins from the top. You would still only anchor to the one in front, and everything behind it backs it up.

You will be amazed at how much strength you can get from this configuration. While staying within material strength limits, this will get stronger as you add more backup stakes, and sink them deeper. Be sure to leave at least a foot or so of stake above ground to run back to the next stake. This uses basic Newtonian lever physics to add strength through torque effect. You can test this out off the ice to become comfortable with it.

 

[norshor]

Sorry, this thread slipped my mind, and the notifications were getting caught in my spam filter.

I have gone over and over it in my mind, and really don't think I can rely on anchors above the ice. The slush layer is going to be impossible to set screws in.

I should have taken video of coming off the lake tonight. Half-tons were getting stuck left and right, and a few bigger rigs came in and chained up and by the time everyone was moving again, we realized it was below 0. My fishing buddy was getting nervous, we had enough fish for the night, so we packed up. The other rigs had ripped up the plowed road quite a bit. There was still standing water and drifts and ruts and such. We made it just fine, I give my 255 Maxxis Bighorns quite a bit of credit on that.

Thanks to everyone for their advice, I'm just going to have to rig something up and try it out.

 

[99wj]

I'd be hesitant about this method - nice simple idea and cheap, but will exert nasty forces on the ice in its weakest direction - tension. Winching up and at the same time vehicle loading down as it tries to climb up and out of the hole. Will force the ice into a "S" shape between the hole and the truck which if far apart can be OK but don't do it close...

Also only works if ice and slush/snow is thin enough. If the base ice is 12-14" (minimum safe depth for clear ice and a 8000-12000# truck) and there's another foot of slushy overflow on top of that you'll be wet to the shoulder. Any more than that and you can't reach the anchor pipe to recover it as described.

Bear in mind my experience is in areas with 8 months of ice, 20-40 below temps and 3-4 months of useable iceroads on 4-6' thick ice... and we get 8" to 3' of "overflow" every spring...So my comments may not apply to your situation and climate.

Check out RTL transport in Yellowknife (the original Canadian Ice Road Builders - they do recoveries of huge equipment through the ice every year...the early season 'scouts' also add "whiskers" to vehicles so if they fall through they only go as far down as the frame - kind of the same depth you are describing. Maybe shoot them an email and ask how they get those guys out if the ice is to weak for a tundra buggy or a Cat - AND if the BV-206 is unavailable....

those treads are very cool, but what really caught my attention was those "whiskers", i looked on the net but i could not find too much info on if they are removable or not, it's a really great idea, but not practical to drive around with all the time. does anyone have any more info on that rig?

 

[skysix]

Whiskers

Will try to get more - could also contact Nuna Logistics in Yellowknife - I believe they own these vehicles. I suspect that the whiskers are removeable (from the bumpers) but not sure how. Tracks are Mattracks.

Nuna Logistics