(SALIDA, Colo.) — While most of us were hiding under a blanket during the below-zero temperatures, a group of Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) Rangers and Officers were becoming experts on how to save lives. On Monday morning, Jan. 20, temperatures were 15 below zero when CPW staff from John Martin, Lake Trinidad, Steamboat Lake, AHRA State Park, and Area 11 set out to the ice to learn ice rescue techniques. Ranger Supervisor Jeff Hammond led the staff of 15 and trained them on rescues, rescue equipment, ice formation/quality, how the cold affects victims, and scene evaluation. CPW staff even took a plunge into the ice to train for the situation. "It didn't matter it was one of the coldest days of the year," CPW wrote via X (formerly known as Twitter). "The trainees plunged into their assignments and learned to save lives in winter." CPW said Hammond conducts similar swift water rescue training each spring, "putting themselves at risk to learn how to save others."