There is always someone - most of them Yamaha owners - bashing all around but their quads.
It would be interesting to see a social study on this.
Getting to the point, I have never tried my DS in the snow, but having a couple of experiences in mud I would dare to say that it is not the best option. I must say that I had a Sport 400 and never had a problem. So, maybe you had just bad luck with your bike ?
The DS is much more of a Baja-ready-to-race type of quad. You can take it to competition almost stock.
I am involved in a team that will race four DS with no major changes in Portuguese Bajas and endurance races. We are sponsored by the Portuguese importer. The first race will be in mid March - 12 hours.

JNBOMB650