Prince Harry climatises for North Pole expedition

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Prince Harry climatises for North Pole expedition

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Prince Harry is patron of Walking With The Wounded charity, which wants to raise 2 million pounds

31 March,2011 05:53 pm

Prince Harry awoke in a valley near Longyearbyen, a town on the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen, on Thursday as the location is considered one of the best to climatise to the extreme conditions he will face.The 26-year-old royal will join a group of wounded servicemen on a five-day trek to the North Pole where temperatures are expected to drop below 30 degrees Celsius (minus 22F).“Is that all it was? Minus 25? It felt a lot colder than that in there,” Prince Harry replied to a reporter who asked about the freezing temperatures.Breakfast for the team included hot cereal but nutrition for the expedition will mostly consist of freeze-dried food, cooked with melted ice.Polar bears have been known to roam the area, so the prince and his tent companions slept with rifles in hand, in case of any danger.The team - four servicemen wounded in Afghanistan and two charity founders - also has a husky dog onsite which should alert them to any danger.Inge Solheim, a polar expert who will be leading the expedition, said the team was ready and looking forward to the trip.When asked how he felt about the expedition, Prince Harry replied: Spending the night on floating ice wasnt something Id planned on doing but everyone else is doing it so I might as well do it as well.Prince Harry is patron of the Walking With The Wounded charity, which wants to raise 2 million pounds ($3.23 million) to help injured servicemen ease the transition back to civilian life after they leave the armed forces.