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Hey /diy/ I could use some ingenuity.
There's a decently steep slope around the back of my parents house that they want to stabilize/terrace so as to have a nice little walkup patio for them and all their old friends.

Considering the steepness of the hill and how much rain the area gets (a lot) and the fact that the soil is primarily clay with some silt, I'm a little nervous about destabilization and sliding.

I talked to an engineer friend who suggested pic related, geogrids. Layer them between the dirt and they help stabilize it and make it a hell of a lot stronger and less likely to shear.

Now, here's my dilemma. Traditionally you bring in a backhoe/other machinery to dig things out, lay these down, and tamp the earth back when you're done. The placement of the hill and cost of renting machinery, however, make this difficult.

So here's my question: is there any way for me to insert these sideways into the hill about 6 feet or so, or at least mitigate the amount of digging I have to do? I figured I might as well ask you guys before I went ahead and committed to anything, but I'm not terribly optimistic.