Current Events > Climbing star, 23, dies after falling from Yosemite's El Capitan

(+) Yeah! (+)

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cz08jp4xv2jo

An Alaskan climbing influencer has died after falling from El Capitan, a famous vertical rock formation in California's Yosemite National Park.
Balin Miller, 23, was live-streamed on TikTok ascending and subsequently falling from the monolith on Wednesday.

In an emotional social media post confirming her son's death, his mother Jeanine Girard-Moorman said: "My heart is shattered in a million pieces. I don't know how I will get through this. I love him so much. I want to wake up from this horrible nightmare."

He was an accomplished alpinist and gained international attention for claiming the first solo ascent of Mount McKinley's Slovak Direct, which took him 56 hours to complete, according to a post on his Instagram in June.

"He's had probably one of the most impressive last six months of climbing of anyone I can think of," veteran alpinist Clint Helander told the Anchorage Daily News in July.
Another renowned Alaskan climber Mark Westman, compared him to Alex Honnold, who became the first person to free solo a full route on El Capitan.

Miller had spent weeks solo climbing in Patagonia and the Canadian Rockies, completing a notoriously difficult ice climb called Reality Bath, which had been unrepeated for 37 years, according to Climbing magazine.

R.l.P

I'll never understand why people do things like this and extreme caving. There are safer ways to get a thrill with way less risk.

Wait, he fell while streaming?

Well, alright.

McmadnessV3 posted...

Wait, he fell while streaming?

Do you wanna see a complete amateur do the same thing on Mount Fuji in the winter?

It was more of a hike, to be fair. Same result though.

Was it free climbing? Amateurs should *not* do that ****.

McmadnessV3 posted...

Wait, he fell while streaming?

Reminds me of Silicon Valley

HojoojoH_2 posted...

Do you wanna see a complete amateur do the same thing on Mount Fuji in the winter?

It was more of a hike, to be fair. Same result though.

I'm going to assume that user was absolutely not asking for more examples.

papayapanda posted...

Was it free climbing? Amateurs should *not* do that ****.

No, he was climbing with a rope. He fell because he forgot to tie a knot on the rope and rappelled off the end of it.

UnholyMudcrab posted...

No, he was climbing with a rope. He fell because he forgot to tie a knot on the rope and rappelled off the end of it.

That would be one of the ultimate "oh shit" moments.

RIP

RIP

McmadnessV3 posted...

Wait, he fell while streaming?

Yep. You see the fall in the video. You dont see him hit the ground or any rocks so it not graphic compared to the other recent death videos.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/1/1b1fa445.jpg

UnholyMudcrab posted...

No, he was climbing with a rope. He fell because he forgot to tie a knot on the rope and rappelled off the end of it.

Holy fuck. That's... Wild.

Watched the full livestream. He made it to top. His bag got stuck. He went down to get it and fell to death. Seems he didnt tie a safety knot while trying to get bag.

FolkenRawr posted...

Holy fuck. That's... Wild.

That's how a lot of these deaths are. Instead of dying doing the hard things, it's something utterly routine that gets forgotten, perhaps at the end of a long day.

I've never understood the appeal of an activity in which the penalty for a lapse like this is death.

The video shows his fall?

Frosted_Midna posted...

The video shows his fall?

The beginning of it. The impact would be out of frame

MarshMellow posted...

I'll never understand why people do things like this and extreme caving. There are safer ways to get a thrill with way less risk.

For some, the thrill is directly related to the risk. Reduce the risk, reduce the thrill.

ai123 posted...

For some, the thrill is directly related to the risk. Reduce the risk, reduce the thrill.

but not reduce the grief when the inevitable death comes.

funny how that works huh?

It should be noted it wasnt the climber livestreaming. Someone else was filming and couldve focused on any of the dozens of others climbing but by chance they filmed the one who died.

Lucky in a way, since it shows what happened and what went wrong to prevent other deaths.

McmadnessV3 posted...

Wait, he fell while streaming?

There was a Chinese guy who livestreamed himself doing pull-ups off a skyscraper a few years ago. He did about 3 and then couldn't get himself back up.

MarshMellow posted...

I'll never understand why people do things like this and extreme caving. There are safer ways to get a thrill with way less risk.

I don't get it either. There are people who do free climbing up skyscrapers. Now that is insane, and hard to watch.

The mountain doesn't look that dangerous when you're not trying to climb it during bad weather. Not downplaying his death, but if he was chasing clout, why not climb a more dangerous mountain like Everest or something?

nocturnal_traveler posted...

The mountain doesn't look that dangerous when you're not trying to climb it during bad weather. Not downplaying his death, but if he was chasing clout, why not climb a more dangerous mountain like Everest or something?

If he's a "climbing influencer" one would assume he's climbed many different mountains.

BlueTigerLion posted...

It should be noted it wasnt the climber livestreaming. Someone else was filming and couldve focused on any of the dozens of others climbing but by chance they filmed the one who died.

Thats actually good to hear. I thought it was a case of streaming himself, which is just asking for trouble when you're splitting attention between trying to entertain an audience and doing something potentially lethal.

AsucaHayashi posted...

but not reduce the grief when the inevitable death comes.

funny how that works huh?

I mean . . . yeah.

That's how it works with some people. Hard to understand, but those who are close to people with this mindset live constantly with the very real possibility of their death. You'll never persuade them that there's safer ways to get the same high.

nocturnal_traveler posted...

The mountain doesn't look that dangerous when you're not trying to climb it during bad weather. Not downplaying his death, but if he was chasing clout, why not climb a more dangerous mountain like Everest or something?

In the climbing world, El Capitan is iconic. Climbing 'normies' think of Everest, but that's almost played out now, and there are many more dangerous ascents, including El Capitan. Annapurna I has a death rate of 30-40%, for example.

ai123 posted...

In the climbing world, El Capitan is iconic. Climbing 'normies' think of Everest, but that's almost played out now, and there are many more dangerous ascents, including El Capitan. Annapurna I has a death rate of 30-40%, for example.

Ah. Thanks for the clarification.

AsucaHayashi posted...

but not reduce the grief when the inevitable death comes.

funny how that works huh?

That's what keeps me locked in my thinking that these guys* are supremely arrogant and privileged. Do they not think of the people they leave behind?

*Seem to be usually dudes. And usually white, also.

Thats why you always bring along a Vulcan with rocket boots.

AsucaHayashi posted...

but not reduce the grief when the inevitable death comes.

funny how that works huh?

I mean mountain climbing is not really inevitable death

This guy wasnt even climbing without ropes. It may not be your way of life, but it is theirs. They dont go into it without understanding the risks

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]

He was not free soloing.

ai123 posted...

In the climbing world, El Capitan is iconic. Climbing 'normies' think of Everest, but that's almost played out now, and there are many more dangerous ascents, including El Capitan. Annapurna I has a death rate of 30-40%, for example.

In what possible way is El Cap a more dangerous climb than Everest?

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]

Except he wasn't free soloing? He was using safety ropes, he just fucked one up.

ai123 posted...

Annapurna I has a death rate of 30-40%, for example.

Forty percent? That means that for ever five people that try it, you can expect two to die. That's insane!~

UnholyMudcrab posted...

No, he was climbing with a rope. He fell because he forgot to tie a knot on the rope and rappelled off the end of it.

Thats heart wrenching. For some reason that seems so much worse than just falling.

darkmaian23 posted...

Forty percent? That means that for ever five people that try it, you can expect two to die. That's insane!~

That is the ratio of successful summits to deaths, not attempts (which is still bad, but not as bad as deaths to attempts would be)

darkmaian23 posted...

Forty percent? That means that for ever five people that try it, you can expect two to die. That's insane!~

That's deaths per successful summit, not per attempt. There are a lot more people who attempt the climb than make it to the top. And the rate is actually not anywhere near that high anymore. Annapurna's rate of deaths to summits as of last year is around 15%.

As an amateur rock climber these always get me. Like someone else said its always the little shit that kills people in this sport. He essentially didn't do the "phone, wallet, keys" check of the rock climbing world i.e. the phrase "belay on" (essentially rope secured).

Highly reccomend the Free Solo movie if you want 2 hours of straight anxiety and are interested in the rock climbers world.

HojoojoH_2 posted...

Do you wanna see a complete amateur do the same thing on Mount Fuji in the winter?

It was more of a hike, to be fair. Same result though.

The craziest part about that is his last words as he almost reached the top was that it was dangerous.

theres a movie about free climbing that gave me anxiety

forgot what it was called

dude had a gf and still did it

Corbenik posted...

theres a movie about free climbing that gave me anxiety

forgot what it was called

dude had a gf and still did it

Free Solo