Soldiers Prepare For South Pole Race In Colorado
TELLURIDE, Colo. (CBS4/AP) - Wounded soldiers preparing for a fundraising race to the South Pole this fall are training in Colorado.
The four U.S. soldiers who will participate in the Walking with the Wounded race will be hiking and honing their mountaineering skills starting Thursday in Telluride.
They will also practice with the sleds they will use to cross Antarctica but on grass.
The soldiers suffered physical injuries ranging from amputations to blindness.
"I was blown back, my body armor was blown off of my body along with my helmet," said wounded U.S. Veteran Mark Wise.
The soldiers will compete against a team of soldiers from the United Kingdom and another from Canada and Australia to raise money for re-integration programs for wounded veterans. Britain's Prince Harry will join them on the 200-mile course.
He served as a co-pilot helicopter gunner in Afghanistan earlier this year.
"As a member of the British team I will have a beer ready for you when you join us at the pole," said Prince Harry.
Team U.S. will trek 20 miles a day against 50 mph winds in negative 50 degree temperatures all with the aim of reaching the southern most point on Earth.
The soldiers also hope to bring attention to what they call veteran's needs.
"Post-traumatic stress and traumatic brain injury. There are a lot of veterans coming back from the war with that injury. A lot of suicides are coming out of that because there's not support for them," said Wise.
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