It's almost impossible to resist climbing big hills (when there are no regulations preventing you from doing so, of course), and as long as your ATV has the power and traction, chances are it'll be just a matter of keeping the throttle wide open and, perhaps, downshifting at the appropriate times.
But what happens if there's too much incline or you make a mistake and fail to scale the summit? If you're stuck on a steep slope, the world can suddenly become a very precarious place. One wrong move could turn your treasured machine into a rolling mechanical boulder, and it could be worth about as much when it finally comes to rest somewhere.
So if you feel you're not going to make it to the top-and you should certainly have an inkling of that if you have some experience (and if you don't, you should only tackle hills you know you can make)-stop immediately. Make sure you're pointed uphill then remember what off-road champion Mike Cafro shares here. His tips will help you and your ATV get back down to the bottom safely.
Oh, if you're on a four-wheel-drive ATV, you should probably put it into two-wheel-drive. As Cafro discovered, "Some of the four-by-fours, when the machine is in four-wheel-drive, if you apply the brake-no matter which one-the front and the rear will work at the same time. Once I felt the front end getting a little light [on my first demonstration run], I looked down and saw I was in four-wheel-drive, [so] I just popped it into two-wheel-drive and inched my way down with the front brakes." But we're getting ahead of ourselves.