I'll try to get some pics up soon, and more precise numbers, but basically it's a private road that passes housing and barns on one side, with the hill on the other. It's used to access the lower, riparian part of the acreage, including carrying some heavy equipment, and is only about 20-25 feet wide at the narrowest part. That part of the property is a giant sand and gravel wash with a bit of topsoil holding it down; it was used as a gravel mine at one time. The hill swoops from about 45 degrees at the top to maybe 30 at the bottom, and is probably around 50 or 60 feet in elevation. As for climate and precipitation, well, it's Western Montana... it ranges from -40 to 110 degrees F, with up to four feet of snow in winter, short torrential downpours in spring, and hot, dry, fiery summers. Each year is markedly different in precipitation, frost dates, and high water levels (I should mention the bottom 8 feet of the hill is in a 30-year flood plain). The wind can tear through here too, in gusts up to 80 mph. The slope is fairly protected from those, though, as it faces East and a pond; the valley runs North-South, so that's the way the wind usually blows. We have a lot of big cottonwoods, gravel, feed bags, and round river rocks to play with, along with a few tons of horse manure each year. We'd like to, mainly, stabilize the slope, but also cultivate some perennial food crops, which means that these terraces must also keep goats and horses out! And of course, we'd like to do it as cheaply as possible...
