Moving 3000lbs?

[Norman Watts <Norman_Watts@zzzzzzz>]

Schuyler,

If you don't have large trees to anchor off, or room for vehicles to
maneuver around in, this might work. In mountaineering people use
snow anchors known as deadmen. These are slightly v-shaped aluminum
plates (about a ft square) fixed with swaged cables attached on the
mid line, almost like a kite (google it). To use them you dig a T-
shaped trench in the snow and hammer in the deadman with the cable
running along the stem of the T. Because the deadman is set tilted
back slightly from the expected direction of pull the tendency is for
it to bury itself even deeper when you pull on the cables. These
anchors are remarkably strong given that they are set in snow. I've
used them as anchors for belaying and crevasse rescue. With the rope
set up in a Z or C-Z type pulley system you can generate tremendous
pulling force. I imagine you could fabricate a somewhat larger and
beefier version of a deadman, set it in some strategically placed T-
slot(s) in your yard and then start pulling with a cable and
comealong, taking care to keep the cable running close to the ground.

n