Sean Villanueva O’Driscoll is an enigma wrapped in a mystery shrouded in pure rapture. He is part Belgian man, part feral mountaineer, part pied piper of climbing’s soul. His recent solo “reverse traverse” aka “Moonwalk” of the Fitz Traverse in Patagonia is easily the biggest climbing achievement of 2021 to date. Having lived in Patagonia for the past year, after being stuck there due to covid, Sean just settled in and made the most of it.

The Fitz Traverse was first completed by Alex Honnold and Tommy Caldwell, and it was the most remarkable ascent of the year. Sean did what they did, only in reverse–and solo. Right around his 40th birthday, Sean Villanueva O’Driscoll set out into the hills and began climbing. He core shot his rope almost immediately, but continued onward into the teeth of an unknown adventure. With each summit passing by, he howled into the rarified air and pressed on. He played the flute along the way, and sang himself the songs of either a madman or a happy soul. What an unreal achievement.

This video is a fun cut of Sean Villanueva O’Driscoll in pure rapture. Strung out, living his best life, and full of fear and joy. And yet onward Sean Villanueva O’Driscoll goes. If this doesn’t fill your cup, nothing will.

Make sure you check out Sean’s excellent interview with us on The RunOut podcast! We really enjoyed having him on the show and he was as exuberant and humble in real life as he is in this video.