A CLIMBING influencer plunged to his death while livestreaming a daring ascent of Yosemite’s iconic El Capitan, leaving his viewers shocked and heartbroken.
Balin Miller, 23, fell as he was rope-sloping the sheer 3,000-foot granite face, his mum confirmed.
APAlaskan climber Balin Miller climbing the route “Croc’s Nose” at Crocodile Rock in Hyalite Canyon near Bozeman, Montana[/caption]
APBalin tragically plunged to his death while livestreaming his climb on Wednesday[/caption]
The National Park Service said rangers and emergency crews “responded immediately” on Wednesday and are investigating the incident.
According to his brother Dylan, Miller had been lead rope soloing on the 2,400-foot route Sea of Dreams – a challenging climb on El Capitan in Yosemite Valley, California.
The method offers some protection from falls but carries high risk.
“He said he felt most alive when he was climbing,” Dylan said.
“I’m his bigger brother but he was my mentor.”
Miller’s fall happened on the first day of the federal government shutdown, though Yosemite remained “generally open” with limited operations.
His followers – who nicknamed “orange tent guy” for his brightly coloured camp setup on the wall – were watching the climb on TikTok when tragedy struck.
One viewer, Michelle Derrick, said she had been following Miller’s four-day journey.
She posted on Facebook: “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.”
Miller’s mum Jeanine Girard-Moorman confirmed her son’s death in a heartbreaking Facebook message.
She wrote: “It is with a heavy heart I have to tell you my incredible son Balin Miller died during a climbing accident today.
“My heart is chattered 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.”
Speaking of her beloved son, the grieving mother said: “He’s been climbing since he was a young boy.
“His heart and soul was truly to just climb. He loved to climb and it was never about money and fame.”
Miller, from Alaska, was no stranger to extreme feats.
He made headlines in June for completing Mount McKinley’s brutal Slovak Direct in 56 hours, a world-class achievement.
He’d also climbed in Patagonia and the Canadian Rockies, including a seven-day ascent of the fabled ice climb Reality Bath — untouched for 37 years.
Alaska alpinist Clint Helander told the Anchorage Daily News: “Probably one of the most impressive last six months of climbing of anyone that I can think of.”
Friends and fans are now flooding his Instagram with tributes, remembering the young climber.
Miller, who was sponsored by mountaineering gear brand Millet, once wrote on the company’s website: “Everyone should experience real fear and danger at some point, which is easily done in the mountains.
“I think it would help a lot of people become less stressed over more frivolous problems.”
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GettyMiller was climbing the famous El Capitan summit in Yosemite[/caption] Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
