Rising climbing star plunges to death from Yosemite’s El Capitan mid-livestream

Tragedy struck Yosemite National Park Wednesday when popular Alaskan climber Balin Miller, 23, fell to his death from the iconic El Capitan — an accident reportedly captured during a livestream. 

“It is with a heavy heart I have to tell you my incredible son Balin Miller died during a climbing accident today,” Miller’s mother, Jeanine Girard-Moorman, said in a Facebook post. “My heart is (s)hattered in a million pieces.”

Girard-Moorman told Fox News Digital on Friday that the young alpinist gained international attention from just doing what he loved, but “would be disappointed to be thought of as an influencer.”

“He was talented beyond his years in the climbing world. He was an amazing athlete, smart, bold. He had a very unique and well loved sense of humor,” Girard-Moorman said. “He loved to climb and people followed him on Instagram. It was never about the money for him. He just had a passion to climb. Live free.”

The tragedy unfolded on the first day of the federal government shutdown, which left national parks “generally” open with limited operations, according to the National Park Service. The park service said in a statement to the AP that “park rangers and emergency personnel responded immediately.” The official cause of the fall is still under investigation.

El Capitan, one of Yosemite’s most striking features, rises roughly 3,000 feet and is considered one of the most challenging walls in the world.

Miller had recently completed a solo ascent of Mount McKinley’s Slovak Direct in Alaska, a technically difficult route that took him 56 hours to complete, he posted on his Instagram in June.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.