Prince Harry Begins His Antarctic Extreme Adventure

By Stephen M. Silverman

11/22/2013 at 03:30 PM EST

He's been to the North Pole – in 2011, though he returned from the expedition early because his brother happened to be marrying Kate Middleton.

Now, Prince Harry has gone to the other end of the earth, to raise awareness for wounded soldiers.

After a brief stop in Cape Town until the weather calmed down, Harry and his teammates for the Walking with the Wounded South Pole Allied Challenge landed in Antarctica Friday to set off for Novo Airbase, to begin acclimating themselves to extreme (at times minus 50-degree) temps for their 200-mile trek to the South Pole.

During a farewell event in London's Trafalgar Square on Thursday, Harry, 29, said, "This trip is another way of reminding everybody that as Afghanistan draws down and these guys aren't in the news anymore so than they already are, it's a reminder to everybody that support must continue."

Three seven-man teams from the U.K., the U.S., Australia and Canada will race across more than 200 miles.

"Walking with the Wounded is a U.K.- based charity which funds both the re-training and re-education of wounded servicemen and women with the aim of helping them find long term employment after they have left the Armed Forces," the organization says on its website.

As for their days, the competitors will spend 12 hours skiing, then break for 10-minute rests every two hours. Whichever team wins is expected to reach the South Pole by mid-December.