Record-breaking climber Jake Whisenant dead at 30 after tragic accident as tributes pour in

Jake Whisenant, a climber who scaled Yosemite’s iconic El Capitan in record time, has died at the age of 30 following an accident in the Sierra Nevada. 

The Tulare County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that Whisenant died by accident on August 3. No more details have been released on the death of the 30-year-old, who was from Mammoth Lakes in California.

But tributes have been paid by the likes of Bailee Moore, Whisenant’s ‘lifelong friend’. She wrote on social media: ‘It is with an impossibly heavy heart that I share the passing of my lifelong friend and confidant — Jacob Daniel Whisenant.

‘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.’

Whisenant hit the headlines in October 2024 when, alongside Brant Hysell, he took on El Capitan – the iconic summit in Yosemite National Park which stretches 3,000ft into the sky and features the world’s tallest exposed vertical face of granite.

Whisenant and Hysell scaled the Lurking Fear route in just two hours, 55 minutes and 32 seconds. 

Together they broke the previous speed record – held by Yuji Hirayama and Nick Fowler – by nearly 10 minutes.

‘A truly magical day that I’ll never forget,’ Whisenant said at the time on social media.

‘We both tapped into a flow state, fully committed to our plan, and most importantly had an absolute blast on our favorite rock. 

‘We had perfect weather for a shirtless ascent and the entire route to ourselves.’

The 30-year-old detailed many of his adventures on Instagram and as recently as July 15, Whisenant was posting pictures from his climbs in the Sierra Nevada.

Noah Fox, who scaled El Capitan with Whisenant in May, wrote on Instagram: ‘I had the privilege of climbing with Jake these past few months and these are memories I will cherish for the rest of my life.’