Montana hiker walks 10 miles after impaling himself on pole

A hiker in Montana who impaled himself on his own trekking pole during a climb last week made the extraordinary decision to walk himself off the mountain, relying on his medical training and the support of his companions to avoid a costly helicopter rescue. The incident occurred on July 20 as David Cifaldi, 32, and two friends were crossing the FrozetoDeath Plateau on their way to summit Granite Peak, the state’s highest mountain.

Cifaldi, a wound care nurse at St. Vincent Regional Hospital in Billings, slipped and fell, driving the 44-inch, steel-tipped trekking pole through the flesh beneath his left arm and out his back. He immediately assessed his condition, finding he was alert, experienced little pain or bleeding, and could determine the pole had missed any vital organs. He described the injury to his friends as being outside his chest wall, quipping it was "tis but a flesh wound."

After using a satellite communication device, a Garmin inReach, to contact local authorities and inform them of their plan, the group began a self-rescue. With Stillwater County Search and Rescue monitoring their progress, the trio carefully descended from the plateau along an unmarked route,...