Hiker impales himself in freak accident on mountain - then walks 10 more miles for help

David Cifaldi was scaling Montana's tallest mountain with his two friends when he lost his footing on the rocky terrain and as he fell his trekking pole penetrated his body

David Cifaldi was hiking up Granite Peak, Montana’s tallest mountain, last week when he slipped and fell on one of his trekking poles. A wound nurse, he went into survival mode.

David Cifaldi, a wound care nurse, was impaled by a trekking pole at 11,800 feet on Montana's Granite Peak in a freak accident. He hiked for 10 miles to get help.

GoFundMe A Montana man walked 10 miles to safety with a trekking pole speared through his torso after slipping near the summit of the state’s highest mountain. David Cifaldi fell on one of his poles close to the top of the 12,803-foot Granite Peak during a hike with two friends. “By the time I rolled over, I kind of kn

David Cifaldi slipped and his pole pierced him in the side, then walked back hours along the route he had climbed A Montana man walked 10 miles to safety with a trekking pole speared through his torso after a fall during a hiking expedition on the state’s highest mountain. David Cifaldi slipped on rocks close to the su

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