American climber Balin Miller has died at the age of 23 while attempting a climb in Yosemite National Park, his family confirmed on Thursday.
Miller was on El Capitan, the park’s iconic 3,000-foot granite wall immortalized by Alex Honnold’s Free Solo, when the fatal accident occurred during his ascent of the “Sea of Dreams” route.
His mother, Jeanine Moorman, announced the news in a post on the website of VIRR, the family’s outdoor goods company.
“This is unthinkable,” she 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.”
Moorman remembered her son as a free spirit with “a touch of Robin Williams’ wild energy,” describing him as curious, strategic, and endlessly playful.
Born into a family that embraced the outdoors, Miller was introduced to climbing by his father in the mountains of Alaska and grew into a fearless adventurer who scaled cliffs and ranges around the world.
Living a nomadic lifestyle, often out of his silver Prius, he pieced together a shoestring income to fund his passion. “Balin was full of life, a true wild card at heart,” his mother wrote.
A beloved figure in the climbing community, Miller became popular for his TikTok livestreams and was affectionately nicknamed the “orange tent guy” for his bright gear. His distinctive glitter makeup also drew attention; he once compared it to “a warrior putting makeup on before going into battle,” in an interview with Climbing magazine earlier this year.
In June, he achieved what is believed to be the first solo climb of the Slovak Direct route on Denali (Mount McKinley), North America’s tallest peak.
He had only recently returned from an ice and alpine expedition in Alaska and had long dreamed of conquering a Yosemite lead.
His death coincided with the first day of the U.S. federal government shutdown, a development that left many national parks at risk of closure or reduced services.
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