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Prince Harry spends night in giant freezer for South Pole trek Prince Harry spends night in giant freezer for south pole trek
(about 4 hours later)
Prince Harry has spent the night in a giant freezer to simulate the gruelling conditions he will face when he treks to the South Pole this winter. Prince Harry has spent the night in a giant freezer in preparation for a charity expedition to the south pole this November.
The 29-year-old, who will race with a team of injured British servicemen and women against US and Commonwealth groups, was subjected to ambient temperatures of -35C (-31F), with wind speeds of 45mph. The 29-year-old and four teammates spent the night in the artificial Antarctic environment, which is used to test and prepare military vehicles, before his trek for the Walking with the Wounded charity, in which he will race with a team of injured British servicemen and women against competitors from the US and the Commonwealth.
Harry, patron of the Walking with the Wounded charity, joked that it was a cold night's sleep. When asked what was the worst part, he said: "Going in." The group experienced wind speeds of 45mph along with temperatures of -35C (-31F). Temperatures inside the chamber in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, owned by the automotive consultancy MIRA, fell as low as -55C with wind chill.
The prince spent about 20 hours in the cold chamber at Mira in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, where cars and military vehicles are put through their paces. The team concluded their training with tea and biscuits. Asked what the worst part had been, Harry, who is a patron of the charity, responded: "Going in."
Alongside his four teammates – all of whom had limbs amputated after being injured in Afghanistan – Harry practised with the clothing he will wear on the 200-mile expedition and learned how to avoid frost-nip and frostbite in the inhospitable climate in Antarctica. Prince Harry's team includes 36-year-old Captain Ibrar Ali, who lost his right arm in 2007 after a roadside bomb explosion, and Major Kate Philp, 35, who had her left leg amputated after her armoured military vehicle hit an explosive in Helmand province, Afghanistan, in 2008.
After emerging from the huge testing facility, in which temperatures dropped to as low as -55C with wind-chill, the prince blew into his hands and rubbed them together to warm up as he chatted with his teammates over tea and biscuits. Speaking about Prince Harry, Philp said: "He knows what he's doing. He's got his military training  … so he's a good extra pair of hands."
The Virgin Money South Pole Allied Challenge will begin in late November and last around 15 days and the teams will trek between nine and 12 miles each day. She added: "It's great having Harry along, and hopefully he appreciates it too. It's a chance not just for him to experience all the practical stuff that we've just done as well, but for us to get together as a team and start to get to know each other better.
Swedish actor Alexander Skarsgard, star of True Blood, will head the US team, while Englishman Dominic West, star of hit series The Wire, will race alongside the Commonwealth team. "It seemed very easy from the beginning, but it's certainly even more comfortable the more time we spend together."
Harry, who took part in the Walking with the Wounded trek to the North Pole in 2011 for five days, is patron of the Antarctica expedition. During their stay at the facility, Prince Harry and the Virgin Money South Pole Allied Challenge British team slept in large tents, cooked food and wore the clothing they will use during the expedition in late November. The team exercised using bikes and cross-trainers, and also practised climate adaptation techniques including frostnip and frostbite prevention.
He missed out on an attempt to conquer Mount Everest with the group last year because of his military commitments and he withdrew early from the successful North Pole expedition to attend his brother's wedding. The expedition is expected to take about 15 days, with participants aiming to travel 200 miles at a rate of between nine and 12 miles each day. The actors Dominic West and Alexander Skarsgard are also scheduled to take part in the challenge, with West accompanying the Commonwealth team and Skarsgard travelling with the US group.
Prince Harry has previously been thwarted in attempts to take part in similar charity expeditions. He began a five-day Walking with the Wounded expedition to the north pole in 2011 but withdrew from the trek early in order to attend the wedding of his brother, Prince William. Last year, his military commitments prevented him from climbing Mount Everest on behalf of the charity.
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