London: Prince Harry has arrived in Antarctica ahead of a nearly 322-kilometre difficult trek to the South Pole to raise money for injured army veterans.
Prince Harry, supporters and 12 injured veterans arrived at Antarctica`s Novo airbase where they are acclimatising to the adverse weather conditions before the trek begins later this week.
"It`s amazing how in six hours your morale can go from pretty high to hitting rock bottom," Harry was quoted as saying by ITV News on his arrival on Friday.
"The weather forecast is supposedly alright but it seems to be getting worse. We`ll have to make the most of it but it`s not really blue skies and sunshine," Harry was quoted as saying.
Three teams are expecting to trek up to 20 kilometres a day, coping with temperatures as low as minus 45 degrees Celsius.
The Prince`s Team UK, part of the Walking with the Wounded challenge, is made up of four amputees from the armed forces, a guide and a mentor, BBC reported.
They are due to complete the nearly 322-kilometre (200-mile) race by December 16. The plane carrying the three teams left Heathrow last weekend.
Along with Team UK and Team US, there is a Team Commonwealth taking part which is joined by the British star of TV drama The Wire Dominic West.
Each team has a guide who will accompany them as they pull their 70kg sledges towards the furthest point south on the globe. Winds are expected to reach 85 kmph.
"The atmosphere is quite tense so people will be feeling that in their lungs so we have to take it soft in the beginning and careful," polar guide Inge Solheim, part of the American team, said.
Walking with the Wounded raises money to fund training and education for injured servicemen and women with the aim of finding them work beyond the military.
