‘The cold doesn’t like you': soldiers test gear and mettle in Arctic exercises

This is the second part of a multi-part series by CTV W5, embedded in the Canadian military’s Operation Nanook, as international interest by adversaries in Canada’s Arctic ramps up.

The Arctic’s frigid reputation preceded it among the members of 37 Signal Regiment, as they packed up and prepared to head north to participate in military exercises.

When they arrived and started unpacking in a high school gymnasium in Inuvik, in the Northwest Territories, before heading to their tents, many were steeling themselves to face the elements.

Pte. Matthew Bradley was still thinking about these words: “The cold doesn’t like you.” That was some of what a member of the Canadian Rangers—known for their expertise in the north’s harsh terrain—had told his regiment in a briefing just after they arrived.

But, he found, he was ready to like the cold.

“When you think of Canada, I think a lot of people think about this kind of climate,” Bradley, 18, said as he hoisted a heavy bag full of thermal underwear, boot liners and warm clothes.

“The Artic, the cold weather, and obviously all the Indigenous people out here kind of make it what it is. And if you take away the Arctic, you take away part of Canada… I definitely think it’s very important to defend it,” he said.

The army reservists—part time soldiers—were among some 450 military personnel participating in the exercises, known as Operation Nanook, with about 110 troops from other countries, including several European nations and the United States.

The exercises come at a crucial time for Canada, as a warming Arctic makes the region more accessible to adversaries such as Russia and China.

• Part 1: Canada faces dual adversaries on its northern frontier

In the meantime, the United States has embraced Russia during its invasion of Ukraine, and advisors to U.S. President Donald Trump have questioned Canada’s ability to defend the vast territory.

One challenge is that the area is some 40 per cent of Canada’s land mass, but has less than one per cent of the population. And so defending the area north of the 66th parallel could mean mobilizing troops from closer to the 49th parallel.

The Canadian Armed Forces has received some good news recently in this regard: after years of lagging in recruitment by thousands, they are on track to make this year’s goal of about 6,500 new troops.

Soldiers test C4 explosives in cold temperatures

Over in a rock quarry just outside Inuvik, Capt. Joshua Rumbolt was leading a team deploying the powerful explosive C4 against what are called “snow defences” -- structures built of snow and bricks of ice that can serve as shelters or bunkers in the cold climate.

“These snow defences are doubling as a target for us to attack,” Rumbolt told W5 as his team worked to clear the area before the blast.

“What we hope to see is the effects of our demolitions on those targets. And actually compare some different strategies on how we’re going to attack them,” he said.

His crew laid 13 blocks of C4 in two locations on the edge of the quarry, and carefully cut a timing wire to a precise 15-minute countdown.

That’s because it takes his crew some 13 minutes to walk far enough away from the blast to be perfectly safe.

Once the group had massed at the second site, with just minutes to go, the crew started loudly counting down the seconds until the expected explosions.

A video camera captured the two blasts -– a single frame showed the fireball at some six meters high, and smoke billowing some 20 meters high, with chunks of ice sent flying across the quarry.

The test was a success, said Rumbolt, suddenly emotional after the blasts had destroyed the snow defences and no one was hurt.

“This here is an indication that we can conduct this type of demolition operation within the North. It’s an indication of what we can do in force projection,” he said.

Soldiers say they’re surprisingly prepared for the cold

In that Inuvik gym, Sgt. Chad Wiseman said his white army-issue mukluk boots with multiple liners had served him well in Newfoundland, but that day would be their first Arctic test.

“When you check the forecast, the temperatures seem quite intimidating,” he said.

He showed the snowshoe that wraps around them to traverse the snow without plunging your feet deep into it and slowing you down, and then the multiple liners he could swap out at will.

“When you’re in your Arctic tent at night, you can actually hang up one set of liners to dry for the day. Keeping your feet dry has got to be a huge part of keeping you warm,” he said.

The group hauled heavy backpacks to a truck, and then rode a bus emblazoned with the logo of the government of Canada to the yard of a mechanic that had been commandeered for the purposes of Operation Nanook.

Then they set up green canvas tents in the snow nearby, prepped the naphthalene gas and lit the stoves they use inside for heat. Each of the eight reservists in the tent wakes up for an hour each night for “stove watch” to tend the flames and also serve as a sentry.

By morning, some said they were surprised to find themselves more prepared than they thought, thanks to a combination of gear, warmer than expected weather, and tough winters back home.

“I thought it was going to be way more cold up here, but it’s actually not that bad,” said Cpl. Katie King, as she set up an army tent next to a mechanic’s shop that had been commandeered for the operation.

“It’s a dry cold up here, and I’m used to a wet cold. So it hits you more back home,” she said.

Pte. Bradley surprised himself at how warm he felt at night -– even saying he had to shed a layer to stay comfortable.

“We’re bundling up and we’ve got a lot of long-time people here, so I’m getting tips,” he said.

For tips on Arctic security, or any other story, please email Jon Woodward