By Staff Writer
When you climb a hill and see a mountain ahead, you keep going. This is what is embedded in Sibusiso Vilane’s DNA.
“I accomplished what I had set out to do because I had refused to give up when there was a chance and reason to do so. I reached my pre-determined end-goal because when all physical fitness and strength, including self-motivation, had left me, I summoned my mental strength to pull me through hours of pain and dread.
“Strength grows in the moments when you think you can’t go on, but you keep on going anyway,” said Sibusiso.
Sibusiso, who started climbing in 1996 by summiting peaks in the Drakensberg, became the first black person to conquer the colossally revered Mount Everest.
In 1999, he summited 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 again set off for the Himalayas 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 summited successfully on 26 May 2003.
On that day, former 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 Mbeki.
In 2005, he 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 Sibusiso is the first black African to climb the world’s highest peak twice and by two different routes.
Three children’s charities, including Wits University’s 20 research programmes, the Africa Foundation and the SOS Children’s Village in Swaziland, benefitted from his climb.
Sibusiso is one of a handful of South Africans, and the first black African to achieve the feat of climbing each of the Seven Summits, 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, Vilane and his Team Extreme partner, Alex Harris, became the first South Africans to walk to the South Pole completely unassisted. In early 2012, he completed the three poles ‘challenge’ when he trekked to the North Pole.
(The Three Poles are the North Pole, the South Pole and Everest).
Sibusiso’s irrepressible spirit and infectious enthusiasm for life inspires and uplifts people of all backgrounds and circumstances, especially children.
As a professional public 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 Sibusiso can do that in the most dangerous and inhospitable of conditions and against all odds, so can you.
