ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, March 11, 1997 TAG: 9703110086
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: MCCOY
SOURCE: LISA K. GARCIA THE ROANOKE TIMES
Rock climbers said the Roanoke man's death shows the sport requires serious preparation.
A Roanoke man who fell 80 feet to his death Saturday in Giles County appeared to have violated basic rock climbing rules by not using safety gear and possibly drinking alcohol during the outing.
George William Poblett, 30, was climbing a rock face near the New River when he fell, according to Giles County authorities. Poblett and five friends were climbing and sightseeing without using safety equipment and may have been drinking, said Investigator Willie Lucas.
"It's nearly straight up and down," Lucas said of the rock face. The men were headed toward a cave on private property that has been posted against trespassing. The site is near the intersection of River and Spruce Run roads.
No charges will be filed in the accidental death. Lucas said officers determined that "alcohol may have been a contributing factor." Test results that will show how much Poblett had to drink Saturday will not be back for months, Lucas said.
Poblett's family could not be reached Monday. The friends who were with him Saturday asked Giles authorities not to reveal their identities.
Nevertheless, news that a climber had died spread rapidly among enthusiasts of the sport.
Gene Kistler, a former Roanoker and owner of three Blue Ridge Outdoors stores, now lives in West Virginia. By Monday morning, he had already fielded more than a dozen calls from climbers inquiring about the accident.
Kistler, 40, a climber for more than 20 years, said it damages the sport when the public associates these types of accidents with climbers who train and prepare. "It's something we all worry about ... we don't need the baggage," Kistler said.
Accidents involving anyone affect the sport's image and access to climbing sites. Kistler said liability is the No.1 concern private property owners have when they allow climbers on their property.
The fact that alcohol may have been a factor in Poblett's death disturbs Kistler, who called it "completely unacceptable.
"That's like saying I like to drink and ride horses," he said.
Steve Heatherington, assistant manager of Blue Ridge Outdoors in Blacksburg, said he and other store employees always direct obvious novices buying equipment to get training before heading out on their own.
Heatherington, a climber himself, said serious climbers follow the most basic safety rules, such as abstaining from alcohol while climbing.
"I don't consider what they were doing rock climbing," he said. "It's just like driving, it requires a high level of concentration."
Novices often attempt climbs without training and quickly find themselves in a situation where they can't go up, can't go sideways and "the only way down is with gravity," Heatherington said.
Tom Reighley, a former Roanoke Parks and Recreation employee who has led several climbing excursions, said camps and several other organizations use another climb in the same area of Giles County frequently.
"It's really easy to set up a safe climb [there]," Reighley said.
He said he has also seen people scale the steep trails nearby and scramble atop a crag to reach the top. Sometimes, once there, people sit on the rocks and drink beer, he said. It's the same cavalier attitude river enthusiasts cringe at when they see sunbathers tubing and swimming with a cooler of beer, he said.
All the climbers contacted said they felt bad about Poblett's death but hope the public doesn't associate that accident with a sport where trained climbers seek to minimize the risk.
LENGTH: Medium: 72 lines KEYWORDS: FATALTIYby CNB