The family of American climber Balin Miller has confirmed that the 23-year-old rock climbing star has died after an accident while attempting to scale Yosemite’s El Capitan.
Miller was attempting to climb El Capitan, which rises some 3,000 feet above the valley floor, over the “Sea of Dreams” route when the accident happened, his grieving mother Jeanine Moorman told her son’s fans, according to a CNN report.
“This is unthinkable,” Moorman wrote. “At this time, we do not yet know all the details. What we do know is that the world has lost an extraordinary soul, and our hearts are shattered.”
Miller was a growing star on the climbing scene and would often livestream his climbs for fans to watch online.
He was also known as the “orange tent guy” for the brightly-colored camping equipment he used on mountain sides.
In June, he performed what is thought to be the first ever recorded solo climb of the Slovak Direct route on Mount McKinley in Alaska, North America’s highest peak.
The rising star was also not averse to a little showmanship. He would often smear glitter across his face during a livestream climb, and telling fans that it was akin to ancient warriors “putting makeup on before going into battle.”
His mother added that Balin was introduced to rock climbing by his father who often took his son out on expeditions in their home state of Alaska. But soon enough, he graduated to “cliffs and ranges across the world, living a nomadic life in pursuit of adventure.”
“Balin was full of life – a true wild card at heart,” Moorman added. “He lived simply, often out of his silver Prius, scraping together a shoestring income to support his greatest passion: climbing.”
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