Sibusiso Vilane OIB (Sibu) was born at Shongwe Mission in Mpumalanga, South Africa. His South African mother and Swazi father moved the family to Swaziland and that’s where Sibu was eventually schooled (from the age of 11). After a stint as a labourer, and drawing on his experienced as a goatherd, Sibu began his working career as a game ranger in Swaziland in 1993. In 1996 he met John Doble who became a great friend and benefactor, and who was instrumental in finding the necessary sponsorship for Sibusiso's Everest summit expedition.
Sibusiso started climbing in 1996 by summitting peaks in the Drakensberg. In 1999 he summitted Kilimanjaro and went on to the Himalayas in 2002, successfully climbing Pokalde, Lobujé and Island Peak, all of which are over 6 000 metres high, as part of his training for the Everest expedition.
In March 2003, Sibusiso set off for the Himalayas again in his quest to be the first black African to summit earth's largest and most fearsome mountain, Everest, the Queen of the Himalayas. He summitted successfully on 26 May 2003.
On that day, South African President Thabo Mbeki congratulated him on his achievement and grit. “In this, he has shown the heights we can all scale in life if we put our shoulder to the wheel and work at things without flagging. Sibusiso, you have done us proud!” (In 2006 Sibusiso was awarded the Order of Ikhamanga (Bronze) by President Thabo Mbeki. Technically he can sign his name 'Sibusiso Vilane, OIB'.)
In 2005 Sibusiso reached the summit of Everest again with Sir Ranulph Fiennes and Alex Harris after accessing the peak from the North Ridge - the more difficult and statistically less-successful side. This achievement meant that he is the first black African to climb the world's highest peak twice and by two different routes. Three children's charities benefitted from his climb: The Birth to Twenty Research Programme at Wits University, the Africa Foundation and the SOS Children's Village in Swaziland.
Sibusiso is one of the six South Africans, and the first black African, to achieve the feat of becoming members of the Seven Summits club. The Seven Summits are the seven highest peaks on each of the seven continents.
- Kilimanjaro (Africa) 1999
- Everest (Asia) 2003 and 2005
- Aconcagua (South America) 2006
- Elbrus (Europe) 2006
- Carstensz Pyramid (Oceania) 2006
- Vinson (Antarctica) 2006
- Denali/McKinley (North America) 2008
On 17 January 2008, Sibu and his Team Extreme partner, Alex Harris, became the first South Africans to walk to the South Pole completely unassisted.
Sibusiso’s irrepressible spirit and infectious enthusiasm for life inspires and uplifts people of all backgrounds and circumstances, and especially children. As a professional speaker, his message is simple: every person has their own “Everest” to climb. Whether you’re prepared for it or not, it’s there - challenging you to reach the top. And if he can do that in the most dangerous and inhospitable of conditions and against all the odds so, he suggests, can you.
Since 2006, Sibusiso has been the African ambassador for Lifeline Energy (formerly the Free Play Foundation) - see www.lifelineenergy.org. He dedicated the 1,113 kilometres he trekked to the South Pole, in some of the worst conditions imaginable, to the children of South Africa. In May 2008, as a result of this generous act and hundreds of sponsors supporting Sibu, Lifeline Energy was able to provide 300 Lifeline radios to children from the Nkomazi district, where Sibu was born.
"The future entirely depends on the education of children, their access to information to broaden their thinking and understanding of the ever-changing and challenging world" says Sibu.
Sibusiso is also a patron of the Global Offering (GO) projects www.go2go.co.za and is an eco ambassador for Indalo Yethu, a goverment organisation which strives to raise awareness about our environment.
Sibusiso founded a running club called Born to Win. He has also hosted a radio show 'My Climb, Your Climb' on 1485 Radio Today in which he interviewed black achievers about the challenges they faced and overcame in their careers and lives. He is patron of the Endangered Wildlife Trust’s Conservation Leadership Group and until recently shared his time between work at a private game reserve in Limpopo and his family in Nelspruit, Mpumalanga.
Sibusiso has been married to Nomsa since 1995 and is the proud father of four - three girls and a young prince.
SIBUSISO'S HIGHLIGHTS
Thursday December 2011 - meet and greet the Queen of England at a reception at Buckingham Palace in acknowledgement of those involved in mountaineering, adventurer and exploration. Among the great explorers present were Sir Ralph Fiennes, a great friend of Sibusiso and many more. An honor indeed!
4th January 2012 to 23rd January, Sibusiso successfully guided and lead his first out of Africa climbing trip. This was taking a team of eleven South Africans to climb mount Aconcagua 6962m above sea level in South America. This is the highest mountain in the southern hemisphere, the highest in South America and one of the seven summits. He helped five of the team members to the top of this mountain including South Africa’s youngest to summit Aconcagua at age fifteen.
Sibusiso is about to become the only black south African to complete the grand slam of adventuring known as the three poles, Everest, South and North pole. The latter is the only one pending for him and he is geared to get it under his belt in a few months time.
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