Winch with telescoping mast

A portable winch, comprising:

• a wheeled trailer positionable at a top opening of a hole;
• a powered winch mounted on the trailer for extending and retracting a cable;
• and
• a hollow telescoping mast pivotally mounted on the trailer such that the mast is movable between a first, storage position wherein the mast is oriented in a substantially horizontal direction and a second, operating position from which the mast is extendable into the hole.

A method for deploying a portable winch into a hole, comprising:

• positioning a mounting frame of the portable winch at a top opening of the hole;
• pivoting a telescoping mast including at least two nested, top and bottom mast sections, which mast is mounted to the frame by a pivot mechanism, from a horizontal position to a vertical position;
• lowering the bottom mast section into the hole;
• securing the mast in the hole for horizontal pulling using a pulling cable wound over a sheave;
• after use, unsecuring the mast sections so that the mast can be removed from the hole;
• and
• raising the bottom mast section up from the hole and into the top mast section by operating a mechanical mast control system to gradually pull the lower mast section upwardly and collapse the telescoping mast.