When you look at the cost of a track hoe with a hammer, a crane large enough to lift it to such height, and today's competitive price world, it's not the work of dumber and dumber. It's obviously smart and smarter doing what they have to do to make a buck.
It's obviously quite smart and in reality safe. The operator of the hoe cuts out three new places to locate the legs. The crane lowers him onto his new lower pads. He cuts out his old pads and then on down to the next desired level. It wouldn't surprise me to find out he cut down fifty feet or so a day.