Troops from Colchester are the first in Britain to be putting winter warfare skills to the test in temperatures of minus 32 degrees C.

Soldiers from the 1st Battalion The Royal Scots (The Royal Regiment) have just started Exercise Snowshoe in the shadow of the Canadian Rockies.

The six-week training package in freezing conditions takes them through the province of Alberta with the help of experts from the Canadian Army.

The troops, from the battalion's A company, are learning ski mountaineering, ski touring and how to build improvised shelters and tow toboggans.

Company commander Major George Lowder said the conditions were proving a tough test.

"This type of training is completely new to us - we are the first British troops to try this exercise so it's a steep learning curve. But the enthusiasm of the soldiers is tremendous, because this is so very different to the normal infantry training we are used to.

"We have no knowledge base to fall back on, but I'm impressed with how the troops are approaching this new challenge," he added.

Colchester troops have been praised by their Canadian instructors, including Sergeant Jim Wyszynski.

"They have picked up the basics well and should now be able to fit in their infantry skills around this to become efficient in winter warfare," he said.

Exercise Snowshoe has also won the seal of approval from the soldiers themselves. Corporal Thomas Kellie, 23, said : "We are beginning to enjoy the exercise more as we are getting used to the cold."

The troops return to Colchester next month.

Cold war - Colchester trops getting to grips with sub-zero conditions

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