Emerging climbing star Balin Miller, 23, dies in fall from El Capitan

• Miller fell rappelling on El Capitan's Sea of Dreams

• Alaskan was famed for bold Denali solo ascent

Balin Miller, a popular Alaskan climber, was killed on Wednesday while rappelling near the top of Sea of Dreams, an arduous route on the southeast face of El Capitan. His mother, Jeanine Girard-Moorman, confirmed the news in posts on social media.

It is with a heavy heart I have to tell you my incredible son Balin Miller died during a climbing accident today," she wrote. My heart is shattered in a million pieces."