Prince Harry to join soldiers on Arctic trek

(CBS/AP) LONDON - Prince Harry is heading to the Arctic.

The prince is showing his support for Britain's wounded Afghanistan war veterans by joining part of their punishing expedition to the North Pole.

Pictures: Prince Harry in New York

Harry will travel to northern Norway on Tuesday for three days of training and five days of trekking on a trip organized by the Walking with the Wounded charity, of which he is a patron.

"What the Walking with the Wounded North Pole Team is undertaking is an enormous adventure of the most challenging order," Harry said in a statement Friday.

The group includes four British soldiers who were seriously wounded during active service, including two amputees. The men will be joined by two expedition leaders and a Norwegian guide familiar with the region.

The charity hopes to raise $3.2 million through donations and sponsorships for the expedition. Harry said he hopes the money "will make a life-changing difference to injured servicemen and women from the Armed Forces."

The expedition is expected to take four weeks and cover roughly 200 miles of frozen Arctic Ocean territory by foot. The men will be pulling their own equipment in sleds in temperatures expected to drop far below zero.

The wounded men making the trip are Afghanistan veterans Capt. Martin Hewitt, 30, Capt. Guy Disney, 28, Sgt. Steve Young, 28, and Pvt. Jaco Van Gass, 24.

"Through this expedition, we aim to demonstrate to injured servicemen and women of all ranks that you can achieve great things post-injury," Hewitt said. "Our training is complete and now it's time to freeze."

Harry won't be with the group for the entire venture - he will leave on April 5 to resume his military training and to serve as the best man at older brother Prince William's wedding to Kate Middleton on April 29.