A famous rock climber, who lived in a cave in Yosemite National Park for 13 years, died last week in an apparent fall in the Canadian Rockies, according to reports.
Zach Milligan, 42, was discovered Feb. 12 at the bottom of Polar Circus, an ice cliff nearly 2,300 feet high, in Jasper National Park, Royal Canadian Mounted Police told Gripped.
“They found what appeared to be the deceased person at the bottom of a cliff in that area,” said Sgt. Susan Richter told Climbing Magazine.
An autopsy was scheduled to determine the cause of Milligan’s death, but police said it appeared to be accidental, reported the Calgary Sun.
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Milligan was an esteemed climber and free soloist. (Instagram @chrisvanleuven)
Milligan’s friend Chris Van Leuven recalled the 42-year-old climber as an adventurous and gentle spirit.
Milligan lived in Yosemite National Park for 20 years while working for a park cleaning service and still scaling the park’s cliffs. (Instagram @chrisvanleuven)
“He’s my favorite guy and I really loved his honesty. I loved his personality, his black and white way of seeing the world, his dedication to his craft and his high ethics,” Van Leuven told the newspaper.
Milligan was a high-level free soloist, a type of climber who climbed alone without the aid of ropes. He gained worldwide recognition along with his friend, Jason Torlano, for becoming the first two people to descend Yosemite’s Half Dome on skis in February 2021.
Milligan grew up in Tucker, Georgia and knew he was going to be a rock climber after seeing a Half Dome photo of him getting a haircut at a barber at 18.
“I was like, ‘Where is it?’ I knew I had to climb it,” Milligan told Gripped last year.
A view of the Half Dome Monolith from Glacier Point at Yosemite National Park in California on June 4, 2015. (Mark Ralston/AFP via Getty Images)
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Milligan had lived in Yosemite National Park for 20 years, spending 13 in a cave, while working for the park’s cleaning service, Best Bet, Van Leuven wrote in a piece for Outside in honor of his friend.
Milligan famously lived for 13 years in a cave in Yosemite National Park. (Instagram @chrisvanleuven)
Three years ago, Milligan moved to Bozeman, Montana and opened his own flooring business while still climbing.
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“You feel like you’re in touch with God,” Milligan told Gripped of the free solo. “It makes me feel like I’m in a magical place.”
