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A young Alaskan social media climber has tragically lost his life following plummeting from the famous vertical rock face, a renowned vertical rock formation in California's Yosemite National Park.

The 23-year-old climber, 23, was broadcast live on TikTok ascending and subsequently plummeting from the monolith on midweek.

Through a heartfelt social media post announcing her son's death, his parent said: "My heart is broken in a million pieces. I have no idea how I will endure this. I adored him deeply. I want to wake up from this terrible nightmare."

Details of the Incident

Specifics of what caused the incident are still uncertain, but his sibling a family member revealed he was engaging in solo climbing with a rope - a technique that allows solo ascents while remaining secured by a safety line - on a 730m route named Sea of Dreams.

After completing the climb and was retrieving gear when he likely rappelled off the end of his line, according to his brother.

Tom Evans who observed Miller fall reported he called 911 after the climber tried to free his bag, which was snagged on a stone.

Background of the Young Climber

Hailing from Anchorage, Miller grew up climbing with his father and brother.

He was an experienced alpinist and gained international attention for claiming the initial solo climb of Mount McKinley's Slovak Direct, which took him over two days to complete, according to a post on his Instagram in June.

"He experienced probably one of the most impressive last six months of alpinism of any climber I can recall," veteran alpinist a climbing expert informed a publication in mid-summer.

A second renowned mountaineer from Alaska Mark Westman compared him to Alex Honnold, who was the initial individual to climb without ropes a full route on El Capitan.

Prior Achievements and Nickname

Miller had devoted several weeks climbing alone in South America and the Canadian Rockies, completing a notoriously difficult ice climb called Reality Bath, which had been unrepeated for over three decades, as reported by a climbing publication.

He was referred to fondly as the "Guy with the Orange Tent", because of his distinctive campsite at the bottom of the rock face.

El Capitan and Yosemite Incident Record

El Capitan, an enormous vertical granite rock face of approximately 915 meters, is a significant feature in the national park and attracts elite climbers from globally.

This tragedy marks the third at the California national park in the current year. In early summer, an teenager from the southern state died in the park while ascending unroped on a different formation.

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

Investigation

Park authorities said in a statement that they were looking into the event and "officials and emergency personnel responded immediately."