Sibusiso 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.
1. Kilimanjaro (Africa) 1999
2. Everest (Asia) 2003 and 2005
3. Aconcagua (South America) 2006
4. Elbrus (Europe) 2006
5. Carstensz Pyramid (Oceania) 2006
6. Vinson (Antarctica) 2006
7. 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.
Sibusiso is the African ambassador for the Free Play
Foundation (see www.freeplayfoundation.org).
He has 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 currently shares 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. His
websites can be found at www.sibusisovilane.com
and
www.to-the-top.co.za.
