An Alaskan climbing influencer has died after falling from El Capitan, a famous vertical rock formation in California’s Yosemite National Park.
Balin Miller, 23, was live-streamed on TikTok ascending and subsequently falling from the monolith on Wednesday.
In an emotional social media post confirming her son’s death, his mother Jeanine Girard-Moorman said: “My heart is shattered 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.”
Details of what caused the incident are not clear, but Miller’s brother Dylan told AFP he was lead rope soloing - a technique that enables climbing alone while still protected by a rope - on a 2,400ft (730m) route named Sea of Dreams.
I don’t mean to argue that people shouldn’t ever do dangerous things for fun, but you can get those same health benefits without climbing to lethal heights. You can traverse at just about floor level or roof climb at less than your own height, both of which are extremely engaging for the whole body.