An Alaskan climber fell to his death from Yosemite National Park’s El Capitan while livestreaming on TikTok.
Balin Miller, 23, died in a climbing accident on Wednesday, his mother Jeanine Girard-Moorman confirmed in a statement.
“He’s been climbing since he was a young boy,” she said. “His heart and soul was truly to just climb.
“He loved to climb and it was never about money and fame.”
While details of the incident are not clear, Balin’s brother Dylan Miller said that he was lead rope soloing – a way to climb alone while still protected by a rope – on a 2,400ft (730m) route named Sea of Dreams.
He had already finished the climb and was hauling up his last bit of gear when he likely rappelled off the end of his rope, the older brother said.
“He said he felt most alive when he was climbing,” Dylan added. “I’m his bigger brother but he was my mentor.”
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Many posted tributes to the Alaskan climber on social media, saying they had watched him climb on a TikTok livestream and calling him “orange tent guy” because of his distinctive camp setup.
On Facebook, Michelle Derrick said Balin was livestreaming during the fatal incident, and he was attempting to retrieve his bags that were stuck on a rock when he fell.
Another climber, Tom Evans, also posted he was climbing at El Capitan at the time, and saw a man rappel off his lead line.
“He was a young man,” Mr Evans added, “highly regarded among the best climbers here.”
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Balin was an accomplished alpinist who gained international attention for claiming the first solo ascent of Mount McKinley’s Slovak Direct.
He posted photos of his ascent up the technically difficult route that took him 56 hours to complete on his Instagram in June.
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It marks the third death at the national park in California this year: In June, an 18-year-old from Texas died in the park while free-soloing, or climbing without a rope, on a different formation.
In August, a 29-year-old woman died after being struck in the head by a large tree branch while hiking.
Balin’s death also came on the first day of the US government shutdown, which leaves national parks “generally” open but with limited operations and closed visitor centres.
The National Park Service said in a statement that they are investigating the incident and “park rangers and emergency personnel responded immediately”.
