FIRST BLACK AFRICAN TO SUMMIT EVEREST TAKES US ON ANOTHER ADVENTURE

From a young goatherd in Swaziland to being the first black African to summit the highest point on Earth, we meet Sibusiso Vilane as he shares his story.

To The Top, From Nowhere is the title of adventurer Sibusiso Vilane’s autobiography which captures his life story and how he went from humble beginnings to becoming a motivational speaker.

Sibusiso’s interest in climbing began after meeting John Doble in 1996 who encouraged him to climb Mount Everest. Inspired by the meeting, Sibusiso made it his life’s mission to do just that and began training by climbing other peaks, including the Drakensberg.

In 1999, he summited Mount Kilimanjaro and three years later, he went to the Himalayas where he climbed Pokalde, Lobujé and Island Peak as part of his pre-Everest climb training.

These peaks were the only mountains he had ever climbed before attempting Mount Everest.

On the 26th of May 2003, Sibusiso’s dream became a reality as he summited Everest and became the first black person in the world to do so.

His life changed forever after that moment and has never looked back.

Today, he can proudly say that he has climbed all the seven summits and a number of known peaks in the Alps, including the Matterhorn, Mont Blanc and the Eiger via the Mittellegi Ridge.

Sibusiso has also walked to both the North and South Poles.

His South Pole trek funded radios for rural children that will help aid their learning.

When he’s not hiking mountains, he keeps fit by running marathons and ultra marathons every year, including the Two Oceans Marathon and the Comrades Marathon.

This week, he joined us outside Swellendam at one of the planet’s most beautiful places, a site that truly shows off our natural wonders, with Fazenda Swellendam and Felix Unite Adventures.

Fazenda Swellendam is situated at the foot of the Langeberg Mountains located in the Hermitage Valley.

The property has three luxury mountain cabins overlooking the breathtaking views that Swelledam has to offer.

Guests are able to spend their days hiking the surrounding mountains, mountain biking, foraging for mushrooms in the private forest and picking organic vegetables for Fazenda’s pastures.