Today was lake ice testing day at Lake Mateus which is located just under the tres hermanos peaks – so a pretty spectacular study site as far as study sites go! We of course have to take extra care to test the ice thickness before we can go on the ice to take samples and Steve is the experienced volunteer for this role which requires strict safety precautions including dry suit, life jacket, ropes and harness. It’s a long process getting ready for the first stages of field work and today was a sorting out day and recce of our first lake site area. With so much snow it is difficult to even make out the lake boundary and you can’t rush out here even if you want to, you simply don’t have the energy to do anything quickly.