HGTV Contractor Found Dead After Hiking in California National Park

California-based contractor Kalem Peter Kazarian, who appeared on HGTV in 2019, has died while attempting to hike Mount Whitney in California’s Sierra Nevada range. He was 52.

According to People, the Tulare County Coroner’s office confirmed that Kazarian was pronounced dead at Sequoia National Park on Monday, October 5. His official cause of death has not yet been determined, but reports from local outlets KSEE/KGPE say he was attempting to climb Mount Whitney.

Mount Whitney, which stands at 14,505 feet, is the most frequently climbed peak in the Sierra Nevada, according to the National Park Service website. All hikers are required to obtain a permit to climb the mountain.

The peak has claimed several other lives over the years. Back in January, the Fresno Bee reported that a hiker died trying to summit Mount Whitney solo after their partner turned back.

 

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A post shared by Jonelle Garo Kazarian (@jonelle_kazarian)

“This incident, along with recent fatalities on Mount Whitney and Mount Baldy, serves as a reminder that winter ascents are serious mountaineering endeavors, not hikes,” Inyo County Search and Rescue said in a Facebook post at the time. “Winter conditions leave little margin for error, and the consequences can be severe.”

Kazarian, who owned the contractor company Kazarian Custom Homes, featured alongside Koko and Nick Chandler on HGTV’s Go Big or Go Home, a pilot that aired in May 2019. In the episode, Kazarian helped lumberjack Keegan and his wife, Sharlynn, expand their one-bedroom Fresno home. The network did not pick up the pilot for series.

In July, Kazarian’s wife, Jonelle, marked their 27th wedding anniversary in a sweet Instagram post. She showed off her wedding dress and said she likes to put it on every year to see if it still fits. Jonelle noted that she and Kazarian celebrated with a beautiful dinner and that currently her husband was “climbing Mount Sill in celebration.”

Per First, Kazarian and Jonelle share three children.