Balin Miller, a 23-year-old climber and influencer, died while ascending the famous El Capitan rock formation in Yosemite National Park, USA. His fall occurred during a live TikTok broadcast, shocking thousands of viewers, UNN reports with reference to Daily Mail.
Details
Balin Miller fell during the ascent on Wednesday
He has been climbing since childhood. His heart and soul were simply climbing. He loved climbing, and it was never about money or fame
On Facebook, his mother added: "With a heavy heart, I must inform you that my incredible son, Balin Miller, died today in a climbing accident. My heart is broken into 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 terrible nightmare."
One of the followers had been tracking Miller's journey for four days and saw him slip.
He reached the top, but he had to retrieve his bags because they got stuck on the rock when he was pulling them up. As he tried to retrieve the bags, he fell and died, and it was all captured on live streams
The National Park Service stated that it is investigating the climbing accident and added that "park rangers and emergency services responded immediately."
According to the NPS, Miller's death occurred on the first day of the government shutdown, although national parks like Yosemite remained open with certain restrictions.
Addition
Miller quickly became a renowned climber. In June, he gained worldwide recognition for successfully climbing the Slovak Direct route on Mount McKinley, an incredibly challenging route he completed in 56 hours. Miller also spent time climbing in Patagonia and the Canadian Rockies, where he ascended an ice route called Reality Bath, a feat not accomplished in 37 years, according to Climbing Magazine. It took him seven days.
Viewers called Miller "the guy with the orange tent" due to the brightly colored tent he set up during his two-day journey on El Capitan. It is unclear what went wrong during Miller's ascent, but his older brother, Dylan Miller, told AP that he was rope soloing a 2,400-foot route called Sea of Dreams.
This meant that Miller had a rope to protect himself from any falls, although experts warn that this method is still risky.
Dylan said his brother had completed the ascent and was likely pulling up the rest of his gear when he descended to the end of the rope and fell.