On the day we trained, the ice was more than 30 inches thick, so strong it would not break, even under the weight of a truck. Tony Simons and Justin Whitesell of Larimer County Emergency Services kindly volunteered to make a hole for us while we were in class.

They spent more than four hours cutting a hole in the ice with a chainsaw. Then we had to push the plug of ice down to get it out of the hole so we could get to the water.