I've never even gotten anywhere near close to getting stuck in 12 years.
But I'm not a Subaru offroad enthusiast. It seems like lots of people really want to use a Subaru for situations where they should have gotten a mountain bike, dirt bike, ATV, etc..
The AWD is one of the few remaining permanently fully engaged systems, unlike basically every other manufacturer.
You can hate on Subarus for the stuff they’re actually bad at (fuel economy, infotainment, wind noise, head gaskets in the EJ series engines) without having to make stuff up.
My parents also had a 2014 Forrestor. They parked it next to my shed when they went on a cruise one winter, and it crawled itself out of a 2 foot snowbank without shovelling it when they got back. That thing was a tank in snow and I definitely abused it when I had the chance.
For the 'tire spinning in the air', sounds like the other tires must have been spinning too so there wasn't anywhere to transfer the power to, but I'm only guessing.
I'd recommend something like a Michelin CrossClimate or (depending on whether you're going to go on dirt/mud/trails) something like a Yokohama Geolandar G015. Going with something that is 3-peak Mountain Snowflake rated will help in the cold and snow.
Failing that, if you're going to run a more economy/highway-focused tire, just make sure to replace them before they get too worn. Most tires' winter performance falls off a cliff when they're old.
I don't know if the 2014 models have the X-mode system, but if they do, you'll want to enable it when driving on anything snow/dirt/gravel/sand, it will make the traction control brake vectoring power transfer more aggressive.
