I was not so optimistic about our chances of success, and really dreaded the fact that the chainsaws and a bunch of tools were gone for good. It seemed an overwhelming task as Critter and I walked across the lake.
The four wheeler in the picture is secured to one of the pole anchors that Martin had set in the ice the day before. Thankfully Martin had latched something with a snowhook and we were able to start winching it up, very carefully.
After heaving and twisting and almost going for a swim again, we all finally lifted the tail end of the tow sled out of the water.
The snowmachine is still attached to the front of the sled at this point, and we had to be very careful not to tweak the sled so much to have it separate. And good news... All of the tools and chainsaws came up from the depths intact! Amazing!
Notice that at this point we are standing on the same spot we went through the previous day. It's phenomenal how quickly ice can go from questionable to less questionable.
We hooked the snomachine and winched it up towards us... finally seeing the Arctic Cat Sticker!!
And a few big lifts from the guys and the winch, we were able to get the track onto the ice!
