A TikTok user who says he inadvertently livestreamed the fatal fall of climbing star Balin Miller in Yosemite National Park has posted a video detailing what he saw and pushing back on speculation about the incident.
In the clip, posted Friday evening, the creator behind the account mountainscalling.me identifies himself only as Eric and says he was the “sole witness,” watching from El Capitan Meadow when Miller fell.
“I just wanted to make this video to address what happened here at El Cap on Wednesday,” he says. “I’m Eric. I am a Yosemite superfan and somebody who loves national parks and nature.”
Eric explains he was in Yosemite after a volunteer trash-cleanup event and had been using a long-range scope to film climbers so viewers could “celebrate climbers and the tremendous accomplishments that they’re performing up here.”
He says he tracked Miller – known to many of his viewers as the “orange tent” climber – on the Sea of Dreams route as the 23-year-old neared the top. According to his account, Miller reached the finishing terrain, anchored, and then descended to free a stuck haul bag.
“We then saw him rappel off the end of his rope,” Eric says. “I then saw him fall the entire distance down to the ground. I couldn’t believe it. I was in absolute shock.”
Bystanders called 911, he says, and rangers and a helicopter arrived for a recovery. The fall happened on the first day of the federal government shutdown, with Yosemite open but with limited operations.
Eric also rejects early claims that Miller was streaming content himself.
“He was not involved at all in the process of the filming or livestreaming. He’s not an influencer or anything like that. I did see some reports that indicated that, which is totally untrue,” he says.
Eric estimates that “over 100,000 people” cycled through his streams over several days, with “a few hundred people” watching at the moment of the fall. He adds that he later shared the video with Yosemite law enforcement rangers.
Alaskan climber Balin Miller scales the route “Croc’s Nose” at Crocodile Rock in Hyalite Canyon near Bozeman, Mont., in September 2024. (Dylan Miller/Associated Press)
Authorities say the incident remains under investigation. Reports citing witnesses have said Miller fell after rappelling off the end of his rope while trying to free stuck gear near the top of Sea of Dreams, a notoriously sustained route on El Capitan.
Miller’s mother, Jeanine Girard-Moorman, confirmed his death.
“He’s been climbing since he was a young boy,” she said. “His heart and soul was truly to just climb. He loved to climb, and it was never about money and fame.”
His brother, Dylan Miller, added: “I’m his bigger brother, but he was my mentor.”
Raised in Anchorage, Alaska, the alpinist had become one of the sport’s breakout names in 2025, earning acclaim for a historic solo of Denali’s Slovak Direct and a string of difficult solos in Patagonia and the Canadian Rockies. He was often recognized in Yosemite for his bright portaledge and playful glitter streaks across his cheeks.
Eric ends his video unsure whether he’ll keep filming from the meadow.
“My goal simply was to share what was going on here in El Cap,” he says. “I will continue to bring to you my love for nature, national parks and Yosemite. That’s all I have to say right now.”
The video drew hundreds of responses from viewers who had tuned in to watch Miller’s ascent. “Everybody is shook up,” one commenter wrote. Another said watching the accident unfold left them “in disbelief and heartbreak.”
Matthias Gafni contributed to this report.
This article originally published at Witness describes horror of streaming climber Balin Miller’s fatal fall in Yosemite.
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