A well-known climber has tragically fallen to his death while attempting to scale Yosemite’s El Capitan during a live stream.
Balin Miller, a renowned climber hailing from Alaska, lost his life while climbing the iconic California peak on Wednesday (October 1).
Reports indicate that the 23-year-old had been live-streaming his effort to ascend the 3,000-foot rock formation in the days leading up to his death. This incident marks the third tragedy at Yosemite National Park this summer.
His devastated mother, Jeanine Girard-Moorman, shared that her son had been passionate about climbing since he was a child.
“His heart and soul was truly to just climb. He loved to climb and it was never about money and fame,” she expressed to the Associated Press.
Balin’s mother also confirmed his death through a post on Facebook.
Accompanying a video compilation of photos of her son over the years, 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 shattered in a million pieces. I don’t know how I will get through this.
“I love him so much,” she added, expressing her grief. “I want to wake up from this horrible nightmare.”
In the caption, she further wrote: “The mountain took my Balin today — I will never recover.”
Jeanine reportedly learned of her son’s passing after park rangers contacted her, as reported by Alaska’s News Source.
In an interview with the outlet, Jeanine stated: “My whole world just fell apart, and it’s tough.
”There’s no greater pain than losing your child in such a horrific way.”
Although the exact circumstances of his death are still being investigated, his brother Dylan explained that Balin was rope soloing, a method where a climber ascends alone but with rope protection, on a 2,400-foot section known as the Sea of Dreams.
It is believed he inadvertently came off the end of the rope while pulling up his gear.
This heartbreaking news coincided with the first day of the federal government shutdown of national parks, which, although left many ‘generally’ open, resulted in limited services and closed visitor centers.
The National Park Service (NPS), managing 443 sites, announced earlier this week that it was placing more than half of its employees on furlough or leave.
Conservation groups argued that keeping the sites open posed risks to visitors.
However, the NPS reported that ‘park rangers and emergency personnel responded immediately’ to the incident on Wednesday.
Balin’s death follows the tragic losses of an 18-year-old from Texas who died earlier this year while climbing without a rope and a 19-year-old woman who passed away in August after allegedly being hit by a tree branch.
The renowned granite monolith is described on the Yosemite Mariposa County website as ‘one of the world’s ultimate challenges,’ requiring years of expert training to conquer it.