Climbing Star, Twenty-Three, Loses Life Following Plummeting from Yosemite's El Capitan
A young Alaskan social media climber has died after plummeting from the famous vertical rock face, a well-known granite cliff in the state of California's Yosemite National Park.
Balin Miller, 23, was broadcast live on TikTok climbing up and then plummeting from the massive rock on Wednesday.
Through a heartfelt social media post confirming her son's death, his parent expressed: "My heart is broken into countless fragments. I have no idea how I will survive this. I love him so much. I wish I could awaken from this horrible nightmare."
Details of the Tragedy
Details of what caused the incident are still uncertain, but his sibling a family member revealed he was lead rope soloing - a technique that allows climbing alone while remaining secured by a safety line - on a 2,400ft route named Sea of Dreams.
After completing the climb and was retrieving gear when he likely descended past the termination of his line, according to his brother.
A Yosemite-based photographer who witnessed the fall said he called emergency services after Miller tried to retrieve his bag, which was stuck on a rock.
Background of the Adventurer
Originally from Alaska, Miller was raised ascending peaks with his father and brother.
He was an accomplished alpinist and earned global recognition for achieving the initial solo climb of Mount McKinley's Slovak Direct, which took him over two days to finish, as mentioned in a post on his social media in the summer.
"He's had probably among the most remarkable last six months of alpinism of any climber I can recall," experienced mountaineer Clint Helander told a local newspaper in July.
Another renowned mountaineer from Alaska Mark Westman likened him to Alex Honnold, who became the initial individual to climb without ropes a full route on El Capitan.
Recent Accomplishments and Nickname
The climber had devoted several weeks climbing alone in Patagonia and the Canadian mountain range, successfully finishing a notoriously difficult ice climb called Reality Bath, which had been unrepeated for 37 years, according to a specialist magazine.
He was referred to fondly as the "Guy with the Orange Tent", due to his distinctive campsite at the base of El Capitan.
El Capitan and Park Incident History
The massive formation, an immense vertical granite rock face of approximately 915 meters, is a major landmark in the national park and attracts elite climbers from all over the world.
This tragedy represents the third fatality at the Californian national park in the current year. In June, an 18-year-old from Texas died in the area while climbing without a rope on a different formation.
And in late summer, a 29-year-old hiker succumbed to injuries after being struck in the head by a sizeable tree branch.
Official Response
Park authorities stated in a release that they were investigating the incident and "officials and first responders acted promptly."
