Hiker impaled by trekking pole refuses chopper rescue, walks down mountain instead
Warning: This story contains images that some readers may find distressing.
A US nurse has revealed how he hiked down Montana’s highest mountain after accidentally impaling himself with a trekking pole – deciding against a helicopter rescue due to the cost.
David Cifaldi was nearing the summit of Granite Peak with two friends on July 20 when he slipped and fell.
A steel-tipped trekking pole pierced the skin beneath David’s left arm, and came out through his back. David Cifaldi
A steel-tipped trekking pole then pierced the skin beneath his left arm and came out through his back, narrowly missing vital organs.
Despite the serious injury, the wound-care nurse assessed himself on the spot and decided he could make the journey back down the mountain.
“I was like, ‘We’ve got to get off this mountain.’ And they’re both like, ‘I don’t know about that,’” Cifaldi said.
“I’m pretty confident this is outside my chest wall. ’Tis but a flesh wound.”
The group used a satellite tracking device to alert local authorities and explain they intended to walk out rather than wait for rescuers.
Over the next six hours, the trio descended about 5000 feet, navigating through boulders and snowfields before reaching a marked trail.
They then trekked roughly 16 kilometres back to the mountain’s entry point, where Cifaldi’s friend had left his car.
“The only reason it was possible at all was his confidence,” friends Jessee Ross said.
“Who are we to say anything? He’s the medical person. Our job is just to support at that point.”
Cifaldi required specialist medical attention. Jessee Ross via AP
Rescue crews stayed in contact with the hikers throughout the ordeal after receiving the first call at 9.44am.
The group made it to the trailhead a few hours later.
“There was no danger to anybody else,” Stillwater County Search and Rescue team commander Ty Williams said.
“He didn’t want our help and so we’re not going to essentially violate his rights or go against his wishes by forcing our help on him.”
Medical staff then determined Cifaldi needed specialist treatment, and he headed to St. Vincent Regional Hospital in Billings, where he works.
He said the potential cost of an airlift had weighed on his decision to descend the mountain.
“I think 99 times out of a hundred I would make the same decision,” Cifaldi said, who has now returned to work.
“Search and rescue coming to help you is free. The flight’s not.
“But the fact that I had two experienced great friends with me and we had the ability to contact search and rescue if something went wrong made that a lot more of an easy decision.”
- with Associated Press
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