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Tragedy struck Yosemite National Park Wednesday when popular Alaskan climber Balin Miller, 23, fell to his death from the iconic El Capitan — an accident reportedly captured during a livestream.
“It is with a heavy heart I have to tell you my incredible son Balin Miller died during a climbing accident today,” Miller’s mother, Jeanine Girard-Moorman, said in a Facebook post. “My heart is (s)hattered in a million pieces.”
Girard-Moorman told Fox News Digital on Friday that the young alpinist gained international attention from just doing what he loved, but “would be disappointed to be thought of as an influencer.”
“He was talented beyond his years in the climbing world. He was an amazing athlete, smart, bold. He had a very unique and well loved sense of humor,” Girard-Moorman said. “He loved to climb and people followed him on Instagram. It was never about the money for him. He just had a passion to climb. Live free.”
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Miller’s older brother Dylan told The Associated Press that the climber was lead rope soloing — a way to climb alone while still protected by a rope — on a 2,400-foot route named Sea of Dreams. He apparently completed the climb but fell while hauling his gear and likely rappelled off the end of his rope, the AP reported.
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Tributes have poured in for Miller from shocked viewers who said they also witnessed the tragic fall during a TikTok stream.
“He made it to the summit but he had to retrieve his bags as they got stuck on a rock as he was hoisting them up. As he was trying to retrieve the bags he fell to his death all caught on the livestream,” Michelle Derrick posted on Facebook.
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The tragedy unfolded on the first day of the federal government shutdown, which left national parks “generally” open with limited operations, according to the National Park Service. The park service said in a statement to the AP that “park rangers and emergency personnel responded immediately.” The official cause of the fall is still under investigation.
El Capitan, one of Yosemite’s most striking features, rises roughly 3,000 feet and is considered one of the most challenging walls in the world.
Miller had recently completed a solo ascent of Mount McKinley’s Slovak Direct in Alaska, a technically difficult route that took him 56 hours to complete, he posted on his Instagram in June.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
