Beaverslide

The beaverslide consists of a frame supporting an inclined plane up which a load of hay is pushed to a height of about 30 feet (9 m), before dropping through a large gap.

Early settlers in the American west initially stored hay for their livestock under shelter in barns and haylofts.

[9][10] It rapidly gained popularity in southwestern Montana and adjacent parts of eastern Idaho, with its use spreading to other western states and Canada in places where light meadow grass was put up as hay.

[10] The beaverslide is constructed of a rigid pole frame in the form of a right-angle triangle that supports a steeply inclined, slatted, plank ramp, with or without sides, approximately 50–60 feet (15–18 m) long.

[15] The inclined ramp, about 15–20 feet (5–6 m) wide, is made of smooth wooden or metal slats and is about two thirds the length of the poles.

[15] A flat, toothed wooden platform called a "basket" or rack is suspended by a system of cables and pulleys from the poles.

A load of hay is delivered to the base of the beaverslide, often pushed by a buckrake drawn by a team of horses or a tractor.

The hay is loaded onto the rack, which when full is drawn up the inclined ramp by cables powered either by a second team of horses or a motorized vehicle such as a pickup or a tractor.