How do I get this boulder out of this hole?

[future_vision]

I've done this when working by hand and shovel only.

Roll it as far to one side as you can. Fill in under it.
Roll it to the other side as far as you can. Fill under it.

Repeat until it is out of the hole.

Bruce

40-50K boulder. There is no easy rolling. Would need to get enough leverage to move it forward some and then shore it up from behind so it doesn't roll back.

 

[future_vision]

Since you have an excavator this seems to me a workable solution. You may have to winch it with a double or triple line pull using the excavator as an anchor.

Once out of the hole how do you plan or relocating it?

I managed to ramp mine onto the bed of my pickup once home my wife showed me where to put it. I tied it to a tree and when driving out from under it it broke both hangers on the tail gate, and that is where it sits today, not exactly where it was supposed to be but close enough.

it's 40-50K lbs according to an AI estimate. AI basically looked at the oak leaves in the water and estimated the size of the boulder and then did calculations based on granite which is the predominate rock in the area. Pretty crazy. Not sure how accurate it is but i can tell you i had a bear of a time getting another boulder, out of the ground, that was maybe 2/3 or even half the size. Only managed to move it across the property because we had a rain and the field became a slippery mud pit otherwise the friction of dry ground couldn't be overcome with the CAT 305

 

[future_vision]

Years ago I had to remove a big rock from my new garden. All I had was my 1945 Gibson tractor. Look up Gibson tractors to see what I had. Anyway, a 7 hp Wisconsin engine was all the power I had. I dug a ramp down to the rock. Then I wrapped a chain basket made from tire chains around the rock. At least a 400 pound rock. I jerked and jerked until the rock started to move up the ramp. Once I got it moving I didn't stop until I had the rock where I wanted it. So a ramp is a good idea I think. Drag the rock onto some sort of sled, maybe a piece of 3/4 plywood or an old car hood. Water the ground heavily along the path you want to drag the rock so it is extra slick. Drag to desired location. Or, as someone else suggested, hire a big wrecker to pick and place it.
Eric

This rock is 10x heavier. Gotta get a huge machine or a lot of pulleys and a deadman anchor. If i use my 60hp tractor I'm gonna need to anchor that to something too or it will get dragged.

 

[future_vision]

Years ago I had to remove a big rock from my new garden. All I had was my 1945 Gibson tractor. Look up Gibson tractors to see what I had. Anyway, a 7 hp Wisconsin engine was all the power I had. I dug a ramp down to the rock. Then I wrapped a chain basket made from tire chains around the rock. At least a 400 pound rock. I jerked and jerked until the rock started to move up the ramp. Once I got it moving I didn't stop until I had the rock where I wanted it. So a ramp is a good idea I think. Drag the rock onto some sort of sled, maybe a piece of 3/4 plywood or an old car hood. Water the ground heavily along the path you want to drag the rock so it is extra slick. Drag to desired location. Or, as someone else suggested, hire a big wrecker to pick and place it.
Eric

This rock is 10x heavier. Gotta get a huge machine or a lot of pulleys and a deadman anchor. If i use my 60hp tractor I'm gonna need to anchor that to something too or it will get dragged.

 

[future_vision]

Yep. I would just back my (underrated) 10-ton crane up to it, position two slings, and lift it out.

Is there something I'm missing about this simple task?

Why didn't I think of that. Let me get my spare crane. Lol!

 

[future_vision]

I know the op doesn't have a crane but paying wrecker is how I would do it. I think a lot of comments are greatly underestimating the weight. It is probably in the 24k to 26k range.

AI estimates 40-50K lbs based on the size of the oak leaves floating in the water.

 

[future_vision]

This is the typical New England boulder and Cat 315 2x the size of the OP machine but was a struggle.

5'H x 6'Wx 10' L a bigin..

I pulled out one that size with the 305. A 315 is a lot bigger. It's hard to really get an idea of the size of this boulder. The picture makes it look tiny.

 

[future_vision]

If you can’t budge it even a little, like you said, meaning not the slightest movement in any direction with your mini excavator, that would lead me to believe it’s attached to a larger rock formation underneath. You should probably look into how large the attached area is, before you move forward with trying to lift it out. You might have to break it up, or at least break the attachment area first

Possible there are some rocks wedged underneath. Tends to be the case in most situations. But this won't move in any direction. What i know is I can slam the bucket down on top of it and it doesn't even flinch. It's planted and it's heavy.

 

[future_vision]

If it were me, I'd be thinking what my time is worth fooling around trying to get that rock where you want it. Do you really need a rock that size, and how much are you willing to spend on your landscaping project?

Rather than spend my time & money trying to move that one, I'd fill in the hole with the rock still in it. I would then hire a landscaper to deliver a similar rock and place it where you want it.

I did this when putting in my wife's rock garden. I had several 5 ton boulders delivered by a local landscaper, who dropped them exactly where I wanted.

Yeah. Besides the 'we got to have it. It's epic' feeling there is the challenge of pulling off something like this.

 

[ruffdog]

AI estimates 40-50K lbs based on the size of the oak leaves floating in the water.

Interesting...