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Prince Harry joins wounded servicemen in the North Pole for Walking With The Wounded
29th March 2011
Prince Harry grinned today as he learned he will experience temperatures as low as minus 40C when he joins a group of wounded servicemen for the first five days of a trip to the North Pole.
The Prince attended a briefing after he was greeted by the team from Walking With The Wounded, and heard about his training for the next three days.
He is expected to play a full part in the final preparations for the expedition, including sleeping out on the ice and dragging a 100kg sled.
On Friday Prince Harry will fly out to the start point of the 200-mile trek.
Asked if he was ready for the challenge, The Prince said: "Not as ready as these guys are, but I'm just here to give them as much support as possible.
"I haven't had as much time to train."
He added, jokingly: "But today, to their huge amusement, they're going to see me on a pair of, whatever they're called, skis, this afternoon.
"So it should be entertaining for all of us."
Harry is patron of the Walking With The Wounded charity which aims to raise £2 million from the unaided trek to help other injured servicemen and women find work, peace of mind and security.
The team will today ski for seven and a half miles (12kms) pulling sleds known as pulks, weighing around 220lbs (100kg).
Mr Solheim told the team: "It's going to be around minus 25C today, so it's quite mild and good, nothing like we're going to get in the polar ocean.
"Hopefully out there we'll get minus 35C to minus 40C with good stable high pressure."
The four wounded servicemen, who sustained their injuries fighting in Afghanistan, will be joined by the two co-founders of the Walking With The Wounded charity.
Captain Martin Hewitt, 30, from Cheshire, was left with a paralysed right arm after being shot and Captain Guy Disney, 29, from Oxford, had his right leg amputated below the knee after he was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG).
Private Jaco Van Gass, 24, from South Africa, had his left arm amputated and was left with significant tissue loss to his left leg when he too was hit by an RPG and Sergeant Stephen Young, 28, from Tonypandy, Rhondda Cynon Taf, suffered a broken back after his vehicle was blown up by an improvised explosive device (IED).
Simon Dalglish and Ed Parker, the charity co-founders and Mr Solheim, complete the group.
Each team member will haul their pulks packed with everything they will need on the unaided trip, such as 88lb (40kg) of food, clothing and personal kit, a share of the cooking equipment, fuel for their stoves, tents and communications equipment.
During a short break in the afternoon's skiing session in the valleys around Longyearbyen, Prince Harry said: "Training was different. It's a little bit cold but the sun's been quite nice.
Speaking particularly about the wounded soldiers in the team, he said: "Those guys just show us all up.
"There are a couple of the older generation in the team that were lagging behind a bit, but the boys are doing really well.
"I was slightly hanging out but managed to keep up, which is always nice.
"It's good, it's different. It's not like skiing, but like walking really awkwardly."
Asked what it was like walking in minus 20C, he said: "They keep saying this is warm.
"We stopped a couple of times to open up the vents and hope not to sweat. I think that's the aim of the game."
The Prince said temperatures could get down to minus 40C, and commented he would need to cover up his face from now on.
"The spirit's high and morale is high," he said. "The guys are all very, very happy - at the moment."
Speaking of the Walking With The Wounded charity, and how it aims to help wounded servicemen cope with life after their injuries, he said: "It's massively important.
"If anybody had the opportunity to be Patron I think they would.
"I was very lucky to be asked by a couple of good friends mine, and it's truly an honour.
"I've got something I can relate to these guys. I've been there, they've been there, and I admire them so much.
"The guys are not just doing it for themselves, they are doing it for all their mates who have come back, or are still coming back from Afghanistan or Iraq. It's the way life is.
"And it just proves that life doesn't stop there, it continues."
Speaking of the four wounded men in the team, he said: "In their case, they never would have dreamed of doing anything like this had they not have had what happened to them.
"So full respect to them, of course."
Further information:
Find out more about Prince Harry's Charities and Patronages
Follow the Walking With The Wounded campaign on Twitter @Supporthewalk
Visit the Walking With The Wounded website