Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – A noted US climber fell to his death off El Capitan, a world-famous climbing destination in California, during an ascent that was reportedly being livestreamed on social media. Balin Miller had completed his climb on the granite wall of El Capitan, in Yosemite National Park, when he went back to retrieve some gear that had become stuck, photographer Tom Evans, who witnessed the incident, wrote on Facebook.
“He went down his lead line to clear it,” Evans wrote. “His rope didn’t reach the bag’s location by many feet, but he seemed unaware of that fact. On the way down he rappelled off the end of the rope.” Many climbers on the wall saw the tragedy unfold. “These things happen from time to time but the pain never passes. Rest in peace Balin Miller.”
Rappelling — using a rope fixed to a higher point — is a common way for climbers to descend quickly. Experts say the rope should have a knot at the bottom to provide a hard stop, but climbers sometimes don’t bother with it to decrease the chance of the rope getting snagged.
Miller’s mother, Jeanine Girard-Moorman, confirmed her son’s death in a social media post that included pictures of him throughout his life. “It is with a heavy heart I have to tell you my incredible son Balin Miller died during a climbing accident today,” she wrote on Wednesday. “My heart is shattered in a million pieces. I don’t know how I will get through this.”
Miller, 23, was relatively well-known in the climbing community, having completed climbs in Patagonia and the Sierra Nevada. But his solo ascent of the South Face of Denali — the highest peak in North America — caught the attention of more people.
El Capitan is among the most famous climbing destinations in the world. The 3,000-foot (900-meter) sheer rock face draws social media influencers, photographers, and expert climbers, including Alex Honnold, whose unroped ascent was captured in the Oscar-winning documentary “Free Solo.”
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