American climber Balin Miller has died at the age of 23 while climbing at Yosemite National Park.
Miller was attempting to summit El Capitan, the park’s iconic granite wall that rises 3,000 feet from the valley floor, when the accident occurred.
His mother, Jeanine Moorman, shared the news in a tribute on the VIRR website, the family’s outdoor goods business.
“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.”
Miller was well known in the climbing community and often live-streamed his ascents on TikTok. He was affectionately nicknamed “orange tent guy” for his brightly colored camping gear.
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“He’s been climbing since he was a young boy,” Moorman added. “His heart and soul was truly to just climb. He loved it—it was never about money or fame.”
She described her son as having “a touch of Robin Williams’ wild energy—strategic, curious, and endlessly playful. He brought light wherever he went.”
Miller’s brother, Dylan Miller, shared more details about the accident. Miller said that Balin had been lead rope soloing a 2,400-foot route called Sea of Dreams. He had just finished the climb and was hauling up his last bit of gear when “he likely rappelled off the end of his rope,” Dylan said.
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“He said he felt most alive when he was climbing,” Dylan added. “I’m his older brother, but he was my mentor.”
Moorman remembered her son as someone who lived life to the fullest. “Balin was full of life—a true wild card at heart. He lived simply, often out of his silver Prius, scraping together a shoestring income to support his greatest passion: climbing.”
