If you do the mowing trick can I give you a tip. Either attach yourself to the fence at the top or think VERY carefully about a deadmans handle setup for the mower.
I worked for a landscaping firm for a while and was mowing a steep bank which gave way underneath me and flipped the lawnmower pinning the deadman’s handle so I couldn’t pull the release pin. I was then sliding down the bank toward the spinning blades. Fortunately the handle pulled at the last second and the blades came to a stop on my steel toe cap, still with enough momentum to spit my boot open and turn all my toenails black.
Still occasionally have nightmares about that.