A 23-year-old rock-climbing influencer, Balin Miller, captured his last moments alive before taking a fatal fall in the Yosemite National Park’s Sierra Nevada Mountains on September 1.
Miller, an Alaskan native, is the second Yosemite rock climber to experience this fate in 2025, following an 18-year-old Texan who attempted the challenge without a safety rope.
Netizens who watched his demise live, along with his mother and brother, have weighed in on Miller’s passing, with one reporting he “rappelled off the end of his rope.”
Balin Miller’s brother described his late sibling as “most alive when he was climbing”
Image credits: Anchorage Daily News
His brother Dylan has since offered a vague explanation to the Associated Press.
He claimed he was not sure what had happened, but the accident took place after Balin had reached a goal at the end of the 2,400-feet (730-meters) Sea of Dreams route.
The outlet described Balin as rappelling “off the end of his rope.”
Image credits: Unsplash/Max Fomin
“He said he felt most alive when he was climbing,” Dylan recalled. “I’m his bigger brother but he was my mentor.”
According to one follower on social media, Balin had reached his goal, then turned around for his bags that had gotten stuck
Image credits: Instagram/Balin Miller
Ironically, a more detailed description came from someone farther from the scene and family, a netizen by the name of Michelle Gerrick.
She had allegedly seen the accident happen in real time.
“He made it to the summit but he had to retrieve his bags as they got stuck on a rock as he was hoisting them up,” recounted on Facebook.
“As he was trying to retrieve the bags, he fell to his […] all caught on the livestream.”
According to his mother, Jeanine Girard-Moorman, Balin did not climb for the popularity
Image credits: Wikivisually/OMCV (Not an actual photo)
His mother, Jeanine Girard-Moorman, weighed in with the press and on Social Media.
“It is with a heavy heart that I have to tell you my incredible son Balin Miller [passed away] during a climbing accident today,” she announced on Facebook.
“My heart is shattered in a million pieces. I don’t know how I will get through this…
I love him so much,” she declared. “I want to wake up from this horrible nightmare.”
Then, in a statement to the Associated Press, Girard-Moorman:
Image credits: Instagram/Balin Miller
“He’s been climbing since he was a young boy.”
“His heart and soul was truly to just climb. He loved to climb and it was never about money and fame.”
The incident transpired on the first day of the government shutdown
Image credits: Facebook
Miller’s accident is noted to have occurred at a time when the parks were considered “generally open” despite closed visitor centers and a skeleton staff following America’s government shutdown.
Be this as it may, the Yosemite National Park reportedly claims that rangers were on the scene immediately.
Balin’s passing comes in the wake of 18-year-old Grant Cline’s demise in the same park but in a different location.
According to the Mariposa Gazette, Cline was in the employ of the Park’s Hospitality division.
Unlike Balin, Cline was not attached to a rope
Image credits: Instagram/Balin Miller
Cline had been climbing a series of granite arches in the north of the Yosemite Valley.
It is not entirely clear what went wrong, but it has since been reported that, unlike Balin, he was not attached to a rope.
The outlet further noted that search parties had to be deployed to find Cline’s body, per the Mariposa Gazette.
The first time El Capitano was conquered was in 2017
Image credits: Instagram/Balin Miller
The peak that Balin had conquered and claimed his life is a sheer cliff face named El Capitan.
It was first climbed by Alex Honnold using the same “free solo” method in 2017 for the documentary “Free Solo.”
Image credits: Instagram/Balin Miller
He opted for the 2,900-foot Freerider route and his accomplishment was dubbed by the New York Times as “one of the great athletic feats of any kind, ever.”
The 23-year-old was already famous for for a feat he accomplished in the Canadian Rockies
Image credits: Instagram/Balin Miller
Balin’s last climb was certainly not his first. He was featured in Climbing for his seven day journey through the Canadian Rockies.
Before he set foot on the so-called Reality Bath, it had not been mastered for nearly four decades.
Social media is heartbroken over the tragedy with many posting their condolences in the comment sections of the announcements.
Many netizens are agonizing over how Balin Miller expired
