Sibusiso Vilane (born December 1, 1970, Schoemansdal, Mpumalanga) is a South African mountaineer and motivational speaker.
He married his wife Nomsa in 1995 and is the father of three children - two girls and a boy.
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Sibusiso completed his O levels at the Mater Dolorosa school in Swaziland and began his career as a game ranger at Malolotja Nature Reserve in 1993.
In 2001 he decided to broaden his horizons and joined Conservation Corporation Africa's Bongani Mountain Lodge, where he was working as a game ranger up until October 2005. However due to his passion for adventure, he opted to leave Bongani Mountain Lodge and pursue his new found dream of a more challenging lifestyle.
While ranging in Swaziland in 1996, he met John Doble, who would turn out to be 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, successfully summiting Cathedral Peak, Mont-aux-Sources, Sterk Horn and Cleft Peak, all in the Drakensberg. In 1999 he summited Mount Kilimanjaro and went on to the Himalayas in 2002, successfully climbing Pokalde, Lobujé and Island Peak, as part of his training for the Everest expedition.[1]
On that day, 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 2003 Vilane set off for the Himalayas in his quest to become the first black African to summit Mount Everest. He summited successfully on May 26, 2003. Vilane climbed Everest again in 2005, this time on the north side. Since this climb, Vilane has completed all Seven Summits.
In late 2007 Vilane and fellow mountaineer, Alex Harris, embarked on an unsupported and unassisted trek to reach the South Pole which, when they completed the expedition on 17 January 2008, made Vilane and Harris the first South Africans to walk to the South Pole, and Vilane the black person to do so.[2]