Billings, Montana — David Cifaldi and two friends were making their way across Montana’s forbidding Froze-to-Death Plateau, closing in on the summit of the state’s highest mountain, when the backcountry trek suddenly became a medical emergency. Cifaldi lost his footing and fell onto his own trekking pole, impaling himself in a freak accident.
The 44-inch pole, tipped with steel, pierced the soft tissue below Cifaldi’s left arm and emerged through his back. It narrowly avoided vital organs. Faced with the remote terrain — and mindful of the potentially steep cost of a helicopter rescue — Cifaldi quickly reached a startling conclusion about who would get him out: he would.
“I was like, ‘We’ve got to get off this mountain.’ And they’re both like, ‘I don’t know about that,’” Cifaldi said, describing his friends’ hesitation in the moment. “I’m pretty confident this is outside my chest wall. ’Tis but a flesh wound.”
David Cifaldi via AP
Cifaldi, 32, is a nurse specializing in wound care at a hospital in Billings, Montana, and he began checking himself as calmly as he could. He was conscious and oriented. The pain was manageable. There was minimal bleeding. Most importantly, the pole appeared stable. Using a Garmin inReach satellite communication device, the group contacted local officials to explain the injury and let them know they planned to attempt a self-rescue.
From there, the three hikers began the difficult descent. They moved cautiously off the plateau on an unmarked route, picking their way through loose rock and snowfields before pushing through brush to reconnect with a recognized trail.
More than six hours later, after covering about 10 miles and dropping approximately 5,000 feet in elevation, they reached the trailhead where Cifaldi’s friend Jesse Ross had left a vehicle.
“The only reason it was possible at all was his confidence,” Ross said later. “Who are we to say anything? He’s the medical person. Our job is just to support at that point.”
Cifaldi had been eager for years to climb Granite Peak, Montana’s highest point at 12,800 feet. The mountain is known for harsh and fast-changing conditions, including lightning, cold temperatures and treacherous terrain. Although hundreds of climbers attempt Granite Peak each year, not all make it to the summit. In 2019, officials said a 65-year-old experienced climber from Minnesota fell roughly 150 feet to his death after nearly reaching the top with his son.
As Cifaldi and his companions started hiking out, the pole awkwardly sticking out of his side, Stillwater County Search and Rescue team commander Ty Williams monitored the group’s progress via a dispatcher who took calls from the group.
The first call came in at 9:44 a.m. on July 20, right after Cifaldi impaled himself. At 1:30 p.m. the trio said they were getting closer to the trailhead and to let the nearest hospital know they were coming, Williams said.
“There was no danger to anybody else. 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,” Williams said.
By about 3:30 p.m., the hikers were in Ross’ vehicle, headed to the nearest clinic, Cifaldi said.
When they arrived, they were told Cifaldi needed more advanced treatment, in Billings. So they got back in Ross’ truck and kept driving to the hospital where he works, St. Vincent Regional Hospital.
Doctors removed the pole, bandaged him up and Cifaldi was back at work this week.
“I think 99 times out of a hundred I would make the same decision,” Cifaldi said as he sat in Ross’ front yard in Billings. “Search and rescue coming to help you is free. The flight’s not. That was a factor in me deciding to self-rescue. 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.”
