🔗 Share this article

A young Alaskan social media climber has died after plummeting from the famous vertical rock face, a well-known vertical rock formation in the state of California's Yosemite park.

The 23-year-old climber, twenty-three, was broadcast live on the social media platform climbing up and subsequently plummeting from the massive rock on midweek.

Through a heartfelt social media post announcing her child's death, his parent expressed: "My heart is shattered into countless fragments. I have no idea how I will survive this. I love him so much. I wish I could awaken from this terrible dream."

Details of the Incident

Details of what caused the tragedy are still uncertain, but Miller's brother Dylan said he was lead rope soloing - a method that allows solo ascents while remaining secured by a safety line - on a 730m route named the Sea of Dreams route.

He had finished the ascent and was hauling up equipment when he probably rappelled off the end of his line, according to his brother.

Tom Evans who witnessed Miller fall reported he dialed 911 after Miller tried to free his bag, which was stuck on a rock.

Background of the Adventurer

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

He was an accomplished mountaineer and earned global recognition for claiming the first solo ascent of Denali's Slovak Direct route, which took him over two days to finish, as mentioned in a post on his Instagram in the summer.

"He's had likely among the most remarkable last six months of climbing of any climber I can think of," veteran alpinist a climbing expert informed a local newspaper in mid-summer.

Another famous Alaskan climber Mark Westman compared him to Alex Honnold, who became the initial individual to climb without ropes a complete path on El Capitan.

Recent Achievements and Nickname

The climber had devoted several weeks solo climbing in Patagonia and the Canadian Rockies, completing a extremely challenging frozen ascent called Reality Bath, which had been unrepeated for 37 years, as reported by a specialist magazine.

He was known affectionately as the "Guy with the Orange Tent", because of his unique tent setup at the bottom of El Capitan.

The Granite Monolith and Yosemite Incident Record

El Capitan, an enormous sheer granite wall of approximately 3,000 feet, is a major landmark in the park and attracts big-wall rock climbers from globally.

Miller's death represents the third at the Californian park in the current year. In June, an 18-year-old from Texas died in the area while climbing without a rope on a different formation.

And in late summer, a 29-year-old trekker succumbed to injuries after being struck in the head by a large tree branch.

Official Response

The National Park Service said in a statement that they were looking into the event and "park rangers and first responders responded immediately."