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Siebe Vanhee

2025-02-25

LEUVEN, BELGIUM


Siebe Vanhee describes himself as “a rock climber and a globetrotter” and for a young man he has already enjoyed an incredibly diverse range of climbing experiences around the world. Having climbed indoors since he was ten, the Belgian was an early fan of sport climbing, taking part in his first competition in 2002, at the age of 11. Talented and hard-working, he became Belgian youth champion four times in a row, earned second place at the Belgian Bouldering Championships in 2009 and 2010 and represented his country in the European Youth Cup.


Despite his competitive success, his most treasured personal experiences came through outdoor climbing where he felt energized and excited by the mountain landscapes. Every year from the ages of 14 to 18 he left Belgium every summer to explore European mountains.


At 18, he embarked on a two-month odyssey in the USA and Canada where he discovered trad climbing. It was a moment that changed his life.


Hungry for more, the following year he embarked on the ultimate climbing ‘gap year’, buying a van and returning to North America for another seven months, where he tried everything from bouldering to big wall ascents in Yosemite and the Bugaboos. Since then he’s travelled the world in search of new challenges. Since then he’s pioneered new routes in Venezuela and Argentina, free climbed the Greenspit roof crack in Italy and ascended big walls in Greenland. In the future he plans to test himself on the big walls of Pakistan.


Siebe is currently studying to become a social worker at the Social School Heverlee (UCLL) and believes his background in climbing can teach valuable life lessons—the journey from base to summit, the need to overcome fear and the ability to acquire new skills are universal messages he hopes to further.


ACCOMPLISHMENTS:

  • Riders on the Storm, 7c+, Torres Del Paine, Patagonia (2024)
  • Orbayu (the fifth free ascent of the 8c trad/sport multi-pitch route in Spain) (2020)
  • Estado Critico, 9a sport route, Spain (2021)
  • Unendliche Geschichte (single day free ascent) 8b+, 11 pitches, Switzerland (2020)
  • Yeah Man (third free ascent), 8b+ route, 9 pitches, Switzerland (2019)
  • Silbergeier (single day free ascent without any falls), 8b+ 6 pitches, Switzerland, (2019)