Mountaineer Balin Miller dies while live streaming on TikTok

The 23-year-old North American mountaineer, Balin Miller, died on Wednesday while live streaming on Tiktok his climb of the iconic vertical rock formation in California's Yosemite National Park, in the United States. The fall occurred when he was 730 meters high, from the top of El Capitán, while Miller was solo climbing with a rope, the technique known as lead rope soloing, on the Sea of Dreams route, in Yosemite National Park, and whose live broadcast was being watched by more than 500 people. The news was confirmed by his parents, David Miller and Jeanine Girard-Moorman, through a social media post. "It is with great sadness that we have to tell you that our incredible and beloved son died during a climbing accident today," they expressed in a Facebook post.

Who was Balin Miller?

Miller spent much of his childhood in Alaska, and inherited his passion for mountaineering from his father, who also climbed mountains from his adolescence, and used to organize expeditions with his older brother.

"He had been climbing since he was a child, his heart and soul were truly dedicated to climbing, and it was never for money or fame. It was what he loved most, and finally the mountain took my son," his mother stated through social media.

Despite his young age, the young man had already achieved several feats that made him stand out as a promise of international mountaineering. In June, he gained worldwide recognition after ascending the Slovak Direct of Mount McKinley, a route of more than 2,700 meters considered one of the toughest on the American continent, and managed to climb it after 56 hours of physical effort. He also climbed in Patagonia and the Canadian Rockies, where after seven days he reached the summit of an icy cliff called Reality Bath, a feat that had not been achieved in 37 years, according to Climbing Magazine. This four-day trip to El Capitan was a break from his rigorous climbing schedule.