Man impaled by own trekking pole then hiked more than 10 miles to safety

BILLINGS, Mont. (KTMF/CNN NEWSOURCE/WKRC) — A Montana nurse is recovering after surviving a freak hiking accident in which he was impaled by his own trekking pole while climbing the state's highest peak.

David Cifaldi was ascending Granite Peak, Montana's tallest mountain at 12,799 feet, with two friends when he slipped on rocks about 10 miles into the climb.

David Cifaldi, a Montana nurse, is recovering after surviving a freak hiking accident in which he was impaled by his own trekking pole while climbing the state's highest peak. (KTMF, DAVID CIFALDI, CNN NEWSOURCE)

"I just slipped on some rocks," Cifaldi said. "It was just kind of a freak thing."

As he got up, Cifaldi realized one trekking pole was still on the ground while the other had pierced his side.

The wound-care nurse said his medical training immediately took over.

"I think my nurse brain clicked on," he said. "As soon as I was able to self-assess and establish that this was not life-threatening right now, I was pretty convinced I was going to get off that mountain under my own power."

Rather than remove the pole, Cifaldi and his friends turned around and carefully retraced their route, hiking more than 10 miles over rugged terrain with the pole still lodged in his body.

One friend used a satellite communicator to contact search and rescue while the other stayed behind Cifaldi to monitor his condition throughout the descent.

After about 6 1/2 hours, the group reached the trailhead, where Cifaldi was taken to a hospital before being transferred to Intermountain Health in Billings. Doctors later removed the trekking pole.

"I feel very lucky," Cifaldi said. "A couple inches the other way and this would be a different story."

Cifaldi is recovering at home and hopes to return to caring for patients soon.