I need some help in figuring out what I am doing wrong with this vehicle

Pulling a fairly steep hill in soft snow (4-5 inches) Traction control off, as I have had several fights with this system, Vehicle will not get any traction, wheels spin,, sounds like rear end engages intermittanly with a loud slamming sound, then I get a indicator that says ALL WHEEL DRIVE OFF and I go no place. Is the computer shutting me down?? Returned 20 min later with a real 4 wheel drive to pull traverse up hill, it seemed as if the traverse was working properly, and did not have any problems with remaining hills. Any suggestions would be very welcomed. I really dont understand the system
Thanks

 

You get better traction with the control active, the only problem is it will reduce power if it slips. turning it off will allow full power to go to the wheels but the center differential never locks either way. It's not the same as 4wd.

 

Traction Control locked up breaks and cut engine power almost taking me off the road, guessing the traverse was not the best choice for traveling snow covered mountain roads, glad I did not trade in the jeep! Thinking GM has gone crazy putting to much computer controlled gadgets in there cars. The traverse works great on icy paved roads though