Sean Villanueva O'Driscoll

Sean Villanueva ODriscoll is a professional climber and mountaineer born in Etterbeek Belgium in February 1981 to an Irish mother and a Spanish father A polyglot he speaks English Dutch French and Spanish and has established himself as one of the most original figures in contemporary mountaineering thanks to a style that is committed inventive and remarkably free His reputation was built on major traverses and first ascents on big walls notably in Patagonia Greenland and other extreme terrains With the Favresse brothers Ben Ditto and Bob Shepton he participated in a Greenland expedition that earned him a Piolet dOr and he later received a second Piolet dOr for his solo traverse of the seven needles of Fitz Roy dubbed the Moonwalk Traverse a feat hailed as a world first His journey is also marked by friendship and climbing partnerships particularly with Nicolas and Olivier Favresse with whom he has long shared the idea of joyful collaborative and creative climbing Accounts of him emphasize his humor his simplicity and his love of adventures undertaken with friends to the point that he is often described as someone youd want in your group Music plays a significant role in his life Raised in the Irish musical tradition he sings plays the Irish flute and has often connected his expeditions to a festive and sonic world notably alongside climbermusicians like Nico Favresse who takes his guitar with him on his travels This musical dimension is as much a part of his identity as his exploits on the rock face which explains why he is often presented as a complete mountaineerathlete artist and companion on his journey Sean Villanueva ODriscoll has thus built a rare career where performance style friendship and music are intertwined with a record that is among the most remarkable in modern mountaineering