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Prince Harry finally flies out to Novo, Antartica

Prince Harry

After a 48 weather delay, Prince Harry and the Walking With the Wounded Team were finally given the all clear to fly to Novo (Novolazarevskaya Station) the Russian air base located near the edge of the Antarctic on Friday.

After a six hour flight, Harry and the team landed in Novo at 1 pm GMT. The change in temperature was a bit of a shock as they left the warmth of Cape Town with its 30C temperatures to be greeted by wind and minus 3C blustering cold in Novo.

The three teams will spend the next two days checking their kits, acclimatising to the drastic change in weather and making final preparations before heading on their 200 mile journey.

On Saturday the teams will participate in a bit of ski training to get ready for the start of the race on 29 November.

“It’s amazing how in just six hours your morale can go from pretty high, almost pouring over the edge to rock bottom,” Harry commented as he departed the plane reports The Telegraph.

Recalling the 2011 WWTW trek he participated in for a few days, the snow “brought back a lot of bad memories.”

Actor Alexander Skarsgard is a member of the U.S team while actor Dominic West has joined the Commonwealth team comprised of Australia and Canada and is their patron.

Temperatures on the 200-mile journey will dive to -45C along with blustery and sometimes rather dangerous wind conditions. The three teams will ski for approximately 12 hours each day taking 10 minute break every two hours.

WWTW’s goal is to raise awareness of the incredible courage, daily struggle and fierce determination of wounded servicemen and women. It is also to raise money to help assist in career placement and job training for the wounded and sick who are no longer serving.

photo credit: Walking With The Wounded via photopin cc