Boone man is hurt in Ice Rock tumble

A 19-year-old Boone man received injuries to his lower extremities after falling onto the Blue Ridge Parkway from the upper side of Ice Rock last Saturday at around 12:30 p.m.

Dylan Joseph Pettinger, 19, was suffering from injuries to both legs, according to a report filed by investigating Ranger Ken Gochenhour. Pettinger was treated for crushed bones in both heels at Wilkes Regional Medical Center after being transported there by Alleghany EMS, according to a report filed by Gochenhour.

A WRMC spokesperson said Pettinger was transported to Wake Forest University Medical Center (N.C. Baptist Hospital) for further treatment; however, a spokesperson for N.C. Baptist said that hospital did not have a record of treating Pettinger.

According to the report, Pettinger was wearing ice climbing boots (crampons) and was preparing to climb down the face of Ice Rock, beginning above the roadway.

Pettinger apparently was in the process of anchoring his climbing rig to a tree when the accident happened. A witness at the scene, Alan Howell of Greensboro, told Gochenhour that Pettinger turned his ankle and then slipped from the top of the upper rock face, falling about 40 feet before landing on the asphalt on his feet.

Howell told the ranger that he was about 100 yards away from the scene when Pettinger fell from the rock.

Human error was likely the cause of the accident, the report stipulated, rather than equipment failure. Pettinger was climbing alone when the accident happened, the report stated.

Climbing Ice Rock

District Ranger Brent Pennington said climbing on Ice Rock is common and allowed by the Park Service.

"When the road is closed, it is perfectly legal to climb there," Pennington said. The road is closed in times of snow or ice, he said.

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