Mike,
This sort of environmental training is a good way to spend taxpayers money by maintaining a credible capability to enable us to fight in the winter in places like Afghanistan, Kosovo and Bosnia for example. Wasn't is a recommendation of the Kosovo Puma Fatal Crash BOI that crashed in whiteout conditions high in the mountains that we continue to train in such environments to avoid such happenings in the future?
So, capability aside, if you take a very financial view its spending money wisely to save money to avoid replacing expensive aircrew and machines!
ZIC