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An Alaskan social media climber has tragically lost his life after plummeting from El Capitan, a well-known vertical rock formation in the state of California's Yosemite National Park.

Balin Miller, twenty-three, was broadcast live on TikTok climbing up and then falling from the massive rock on midweek.

Through a heartfelt online message announcing her son's passing, his parent said: "I am devastated in a million pieces. I don't know how I will survive this. I love him so much. I want to wake up from this awful dream."

Details of the Accident

Specifics of what caused the tragedy are not clear, but Miller's brother Dylan revealed he was engaging in solo climbing with a rope - a technique that enables climbing alone while remaining secured by a rope - on a 730m route named Sea of Dreams.

He had finished the climb and was hauling up equipment when he probably descended past the termination of his line, according to his brother.

Tom Evans who observed the fall reported he called emergency services after Miller tried to retrieve his backpack, which was snagged on a rock.

Climbing History of the Adventurer

Hailing from Anchorage, Miller was raised climbing with his father and sibling.

He was an experienced alpinist and earned global recognition for claiming the initial solo climb of Mount McKinley's Slovak Direct route, which required 56 hours to finish, according to a post on his social media in June.

"He experienced likely among the most remarkable last six months of climbing of any climber I can recall," experienced mountaineer a climbing expert told a publication in mid-summer.

Another famous Alaskan climber Mark Westman compared him to Alex Honnold, who was the initial individual to free solo a full route on the granite wall.

Prior Achievements and Moniker

Miller had spent weeks climbing alone in South America and the Canadian mountain range, successfully finishing a extremely challenging ice climb called Reality Bath, which had been unrepeated for 37 years, as reported by a climbing publication.

He was known fondly as the "Orange Tent Guy", due to his unique campsite at the bottom of El Capitan.

The Granite Monolith and Yosemite Incident Record

The massive formation, an enormous sheer granite wall of roughly 3,000 feet, is a significant feature in the park and attracts elite climbers from all over the world.

Miller's death marks the third fatality at the California park in the current year. In June, an teenager from Texas died in the park while climbing unroped on a separate rock.

And in August, a 29-year-old hiker succumbed to injuries after being hit in the head by a large tree branch.

Official Response

The National Park Service stated in a statement that they were investigating the event and "officials and emergency personnel responded immediately."