David Cifaldi and two hiking companions were crossing Montana’s Froze-to-Death Plateau, nearing the state’s highest peak, when Cifaldi slipped and was impaled by his own trekking pole. The 44-inch (112-centimetre) steel-tipped pole pierced beneath his left arm, missing vital organs, and protruded from his back.

Despite the severity of the injury, Cifaldi, a 32-year-old wound care nurse from Billings, Montana, conducted a self-assessment and decided to hike out rather than wait for costly helicopter rescue. “I was like, ‘We’ve got to get off this mountain.’ And they’re both like, ‘I don’t know about that,’” Cifaldi recalled. “I’m pretty confident this is outside my chest wall. ’Tis but a flesh wound.”

Using a Garmin inReach satellite communication device, the group informed local authorities of their plan to self-rescue. They then carefully descended along an unmarked route, navigating boulders and snowfields before reaching an established trail.

After more than six hours, covering about 10 miles (16 kilometres) and descending roughly 5,000 feet (1,500 metres), they reached a trailhead where Cifaldi’s friend Jesse Ross had parked a vehicle.

Cifaldi’s quick thinking and determination helped him survive a dangerous accident in one of Montana’s most challenging terrains.

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