A climber who scaled Yosemite National Park’s El Capitan in record time has died at the age of 30.
Jake Whisenant was killed in an accident in the Sierra Nevada August 3, according to records from the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office.
Bailee Moore, who described the influencer from Mammoth Lakes as her “lifelong friend and confidant,” posted a tribute on Instagram.
“Our family is absolutely devastated by this news but find solace in the fact that Jake died doing what he loves in the beautiful Sierra Nevada,” Moore wrote.
“I will look for you in every life, my brother. Now go rest high up on that mountain.”
open image in galleryNoah Fox, who climbed El Capitan in Yosemite National Park with Whisenant, said he would “cherish” those memories for the rest of his life. Replying to Moore’s post Fox said he had the “privilege of climbing with Jake” in recent months.
Whisenant scaled El Capitan’s Lurking Fear route in October 2024, alongside fellow climber Brant Hysell, completing the journey in just two hours, 55 minutes, and 32 seconds.
According to climbing magazine Gripped, the pair smashed the previous record for the route, previously held by climbers Yuji Hirayama and Nick Fowler.
On social media, Whisenant had described the experience as a “magical day” that he would never forget.
open image in gallery“We both tapped into a flow state, fully committed to our plan, and most importantly had an absolute blast on our favorite rock,” he said.
The climber added, “We had perfect weather for a shirtless ascent and the entire route to ourselves.”
El Capitan rises to more than 3,000 feet above the valley floor and is more than three times higher than the Eiffel Tower.
On Instagram, Whisenant regularly gave fans a glimpse into his adventures, sharing photographs of himself scaling rock faces and looking out at sunsets.
Many of his posts featured fellow climbers, with Whisenant captioning one image by saying that he was “very grateful for a summer full of community and adventure.”
Accompanying the post was footage of the climber and his friends overlooking a series of lakes and forests. Meanwhile, one man can be seen playing music atop a rock covered in strings of light.
The Independent has contacted the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office for further comment.