Prince Harry Snowed In At Antarctic Camp

Prince Harry and his fellow Walking With The Wounded expedition members are set to face further frustrations as their plans to get to second base camp are likely to be delayed.

A snow storm and very high winds have left the three South Pole Allied Challenge teams largely confined to their basic accommodation blocks at Novolazarevskaya Station in temperatures of -10C (14F).

Since arriving in Antarctica on Friday last week, the teams have been unable to take part in some of the scheduled skiing exercises to help them acclimatise to the hostile conditions.

To pass the time, the teams from the UK, US and the Commonwealth have been resting and unpacking and repacking the kit they will take on the trek.

Their departure date to the next base camp is likely to be moved from today to Tuesday at the earliest.

The Walking With The Wounded South Pole Allied Challenge 2013, of which Harry is patron, will see the participants made up of largely wounded ex-servicemen and women race over a 200-mile (320km) course to the South Pole.

As the 29-year-old Prince stepped off the plane in Antarctica, he remarked that the wind and cold had brought back "a lot of bad memories" from his last experience in the North Pole in 2011.

The Apache helicopter pilot told Sky News: "It's amazing how, in just six hours, your morale can go from pretty high, almost pouring over the edge, to rock bottom.

"The weather forecast was supposed to be alright, but it seems to be getting worse."

All the injured service personnel have overcome life-changing injuries and undertaken challenging training programmes to prepare themselves for the conditions in Antarctica.

Trekking around nine to 12 miles a day (15-20km), the teams will endure temperatures as low as -45C and 50mph winds as they pull their 154lbs (70kg) sleds towards the southern-most point on the globe.

They hope to reach the geographic South Pole by December 16.