A hiking trip on Granite Peak, Montana’s tallest mountain, turned into a harrowing experience for 32-year-old nurse David Cifaldi on July 20. Cifaldi, accompanied by two friends, was about ten miles into their climb when he slipped on rocky terrain and accidentally impaled himself with one of his trekking poles.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(jpeg)/David-Cifaldi-072626-52b6c7857adb4da68edf2a633affd617.jpg)
The incident happened at an altitude of 12,799 feet, where Cifaldi lost his footing, causing the pole to penetrate through his torso. Reflecting on the bizarre event, Cifaldi shared with KTMF, “It was just kind of a freak thing.” Drawing on his medical training, he quickly assessed his condition and realised he could feel the pole through his skin. Taking several deep breaths, he determined that it had not penetrated any vital organs, such as his chest or lung.
Cifaldi’s friends documented his injury with photographs to help him evaluate the situation further. One of his friends, Jess Ross, described the gravity of the situation on a GoFundMe page that was established to support Cifaldi. He conveyed that the trekking pole had passed completely through Cifaldi’s lat muscle, with approximately eight inches protruding externally. Despite the severity of the injury, Cifaldi remained confident that it would not be life-threatening and felt able to make the descent from the mountain on foot.
With the pole still lodged in his body, the group began their descent, a challenging return journey of over ten miles down rugged terrain, including boulder fields and patches of snow. Cifaldi fashioned a makeshift sling from the chest strap of his running vest, allowing him to free up his arms while one of his friends assisted by trailing closely behind to monitor for bleeding.
As they made their way down the mountain, the trio managed to infuse some humour into their dire circumstances. Cifaldi revealed that, several hours into their trek, the friends felt optimistic about their progress and began making light-hearted jokes, including some about kebabs — a reference to the pole that had become a makeshift skewering device.
Despite the pain and the shocking nature of his injury, Cifaldi remained remarkably upbeat throughout the ordeal. Ross noted on the GoFundMe page that he made the arduous journey down entirely under his own power, without complaints and with high spirits. In a show of consideration for fellow hikers, Cifaldi even suggested that a friend alert approaching hikers to ensure that no children would inadvertently witness his serious injury.
The descent ultimately took over six hours before they reached a trailhead, where Cifaldi received medical attention and was subsequently transferred to Intermountain Health in Billings. Fortunately, doctors were able to safely remove the trekking pole from his body without complications.
Following the incident, Cifaldi is reportedly receiving ongoing medical care and may require surgery in the future to fully recover. Reflecting on the experience, he expressed gratitude for his survival, stating he feels “very lucky” in light of what could have been a life-altering accident. He noted, “A couple of inches the other way, and this would be a different story.”
Despite the trauma of the experience, Cifaldi’s strong spirit remains unbroken. He has plans to revisit Granite Peak next year, determined to complete the summit of the mountain he had started climbing, signalling a resilient resolve to not let the incident define him. His story not only shines a light on the unpredictability of nature but also highlights the strength and tenacity of the human spirit in the face of adversity.