I think I will use a combo of the suggestions .. a metal stucture to hold the integrity of the pipe with rock to hold it down .. to complicate matters the reach on my excavator is only about 14' and at that slope is alot less so without tearing off the top of the dam to reach it .. well I think you see
We built the dam in 4' lifts so the slope would not get the better of us .. I may have to tear it down in the same fashion to get where I want to go ..
Another problem I am seeing is the excavaor weighs 45,000 lbs .. we tried very hard during construction to keep the tracks off the centerline of the dam (directly over the pipe) so as not to jepordize the integrity of the structure with excessive weight.
AAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHH !!!!!! guess I'll talk to my operator this morning and see what gives .. I will try and post some pics ..
