Background: Sibusiso Vilane was born at Shongwe Mission in Mpumalanga, South Africa. At the age of 11, his father moved the family to Swaziland. In 1996 Sibusiso met John Doble who became a great friend and instrumental in finding the necessary sponsorship for the Sibusiso summit expedition. 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.

He started climbing in 1996 by summiting peaks in the Drakensberg. In 1999 he summited Kilimanjaro and went on to the Himalayas in 2002. Sibusiso has become the only black South African to complete the grand slam of adventuring known as the Three Poles Challenges.

Sibusiso is a loving husband to Nomsa and a profound father of four. He supports the educational needs of three young girls in honor of those who contributed to his own education when his parents could not afford it.

He began his career as a game ranger in Swaziland in 1993. Before that he worked as a laborer and goat-header. As an adventurous mountaineer, he has achieved a lot and acquired skills amongst which are the following:

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. Through this adventurous achievement, three charities benefited from his climb and thus The Birth to Twenty Research Programme at Wits University, the Africa Foundation and the SOS Children’s Village in Swaziland.

In 2008, Sibusiso 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. Since 2006, Sibusiso has been the African ambassador for Lifeline Energy (formerly the Free Play Foundation). Through this foundation together with a generous act and hundreds of sponsors supporting Sibusiso, Lifeline Energy was able to provide 300 Lifeline radios to children from the Nkomazi district, where Sibusiso was born.

In 2012, Sibusiso became a fully-fledged member of the British Alpine Club. Sibusiso has become the only black South African to complete the grand slam of adventuring known as the Three Poles Challenge: Which is reaching the summit of Everest, South and North Pole. In 2012 Sibusiso was included in the “Green Book” of South Africa’s 100 Most Influential People in Sport’ at a function hosted by Minister Fikile Mbalula of the Department of Sport and Recreation.

In December 2011, Sibusiso was introduced to the Queen of England at a reception at Buckingham Palace. The reception was held to acknowledge those involved in mountaineering, adventurer and exploration.