A 23-year-old climbing influencer died while live-streaming as he climbed El Capitan, the iconic vertical rock face in Yosemite National Park. Balin Miller fell while climbing on Wednesday, his mother, Jeanine Girard-Moorman, told the Associated Press. "He had been climbing since he was a little boy," she said.
"Climbing was in his heart and soul. He loved it for the pure joy of it—it was never about money or fame," she added as she paid tribute to her son. The heartbroken mother further wrote on Facebook, saying: "It is with a heavy heart I have to tell you my incredible son Balin Miller died during a climbing accident today."
Tragic Fall
She added, "My heart is shattered in a million pieces. I don't know how I will get through this. I love him so much. I want to wake up from this horrible nightmare." Tributes have been pouring in for Miller, while viewers who had been following his climb on TikTok expressed their shock and heartbreak at witnessing the fall.
One fan, who had been tracking his journey over four days, shared that she was watching the live stream when the tragic accident happened.
"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.
The National Park Service said in a statement that it is investigating the climbing accident, adding that "park rangers and emergency personnel responded immediately."
Miller's death came on the first day of the government shutdown, though the National Park Service said that national parks like Yosemite remained "generally" open, albeit with limited operations.
Horror Death
El Capitan, the massive granite formation Miller was climbing, is one of Yosemite's most iconic landmarks, rising about 3,000 feet. It wasn't until 2017 that a free solo climber first conquered it without ropes.
Fans knew Miller as the "orange tent guy" because of the bright-colored tent he used during his two-day climb.
It's still unclear what went wrong during his ascent. His older brother, Dylan Miller, told the AP that Balin was lead rope soloing a 2,400-foot route called Sea of Dreams. This technique involves using a rope for protection in case of a fall, but experts warn it remains highly dangerous.
According to Dylan, Balin had completed the climb and was likely hauling the rest of his gear when he rappelled to the end of his rope and tragically fell. "He said he felt most alive when he was climbing,' Dylan Miller said. 'I'm his bigger brother but he was my mentor."
Miller grew up in Alaska, spending much of his childhood climbing alongside his brother and his father, who was also an experienced climber.
He soon earned a reputation as a skilled alpinist. In June, he gained international recognition for completing the Slovak Direct route on Mount McKinley, a notoriously difficult climb that took him 56 hours to finish.
Miller also pursued climbs in Patagonia and the Canadian Rockies. There, he reached the top of an ice climb called Reality Bath—a feat that, according to Climbing magazine, hadn't been accomplished in 37 years. The climb took him seven days to complete.
