question on H3

[D-MAX]

went to big bear mountain last sunday and it was snowing, so i was driving a long but i took a wronge turn so i needed to make a "u" turn. so i pulled over to the shoulder but it turned out that it was a small ditch covered in snow about a foot deep. i had my h3 on 4hi and when i pressed on the gas the wheels started slipping, all of a sudden my sabilitrac came of and a jolt of torque came in to efect. not only that but when i got on the road it would'nt shift past second gear, like in 4low. as soon as i let go of the gas it went back to normal.
so has anyone expeince this before? is this a feature i don't know about or am i just crazy?