Kalem Peter Kazarian, who starred in the pilot ‘Go Big or Go Home,’ died while climbing Mount Whitney in Sequoia National Park

Credit: Facebook
Credit: Facebook

NEED TO KNOW

  • Kalem Peter Kazarian died while hiking on 14,505-foot Mount Whitney in Sequoia National Park
  • The contractor appeared alongside Koko and Nick Chandler in HGTV’s 2019 pilot Go Big or Go Home
  • He owned Kazarian Custom Homes in Fresno, Calif. and was respected as a hardworking teacher and leader

California contractor Kalem Peter Kazarian, who appeared on HGTV, has died after an apparent hiking accident in California.

Kazarian, who starred alongside hosts Koko and Nick Chandler in the 2019 HGTV pilot of Go Big or Go Home, was pronounced dead at Sequoia National Park on Oct. 5, the Tulare County Coronor’s office confirmed to PEOPLE. His cause of death has not yet been determined. He was 52.

The builder was attempting to climb Mount Whitney when he died, according to local outlets KSEE/KGPE.

Credit: Getty
Credit: Getty

Mount Whitney is the highest mountain in the lower 48 United States at 14,505 feet. The peak has claimed several other lives, including a solo hiker who died in 2026 while attempting to summit it after their companion turned back, according to the Sacramento Bee.

The mountain has two primary hiking routes. The more popular option is the Mount Whitney Trail, which is roughly 22 miles round-trip and takes about 12 hours to complete, with approximately 6,000 feet of elevation gain, per recreation.gov. The less common Mountaineer’s Route is shorter at 9.4 miles, but steeper and more technically difficult, including a scramble up the mountain’s east face.

Go Big or Go Home aired a pilot on HGTV in May 2019, but was seemingly not picked up by the network. The episode featured Fresno lumberjack Keegan and his wife, Sharlynn, who wanted to expand their one-bedroom, one-bathroom Fresno home.

PEOPLE has reached out to the contractor’s company, Kazarian Custom Homes, for comment. According to a 2022 post on the business’s Instagram page, Kazarian was “a natural teacher, leader, visionary, and one of the hardest workers.”



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