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Impaled on Granite Peak
David Cifaldi, a 32-year-old nurse in wound care at a Billings, Montana hospital, slipped while crossing Montana’s Froze-to-Death Plateau and was impaled by his trekking pole as he fell near the top of Granite Peak.
“The 44-inch (112-centimeter) steel-tipped pole passed through the flesh beneath Cifaldi’s left arm”
The 44-inch (112-centimeter) steel-tipped pole passed through the flesh beneath Cifaldi’s left arm, missed any vital organs, and protruded from his back, and he told friends, “We’ve got to get off this mountain.”
Cifaldi and his two hiking companions used a Garmin inReach satellite communication device to contact local authorities and inform them of their plan to self-rescue rather than wait for a helicopter rescue.
After more than six hours, they traveled about 10 miles (16 kilometers) and descended roughly 5,000 feet (1,500 meters) before reaching a trailhead where friend Jesse Ross had parked a vehicle.
By about 3:30 p.m., the hikers were in Ross’ vehicle headed to medical care in Billings, and doctors at St. Vincent Regional Hospital removed the pole and bandaged him up.
Self-Rescue Decision
Stillwater County Search and Rescue team commander Ty Williams monitored the group’s progress via a dispatcher who took calls from the hikers, and 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 told Williams they were getting closer to the trailhead and to let the nearest hospital know they were coming, and Williams said, “There was no danger to anybody else.”
Williams added that Cifaldi “didn’t want our help” and that his team would not force assistance, saying they were “not going to essentially violate his rights or go against his wishes by forcing our help on him.”
Cifaldi later explained the reasoning for self-rescue, saying, “Search and rescue coming to help you is free. The flight’s not.”
He also credited the decision to having “two experienced great friends” and the ability to contact search and rescue if conditions worsened.
Aftermath in Billings
After arriving at a nearby clinic, Cifaldi was told he needed more advanced treatment in Billings, and the hikers drove to St. Vincent Regional Hospital where doctors removed the pole and treated his injuries.
““I think 99 times out of a hundred I would make the same decision,””
Cifaldi said he was back at work this week, and he told reporters, “I think 99 times out of a hundred I would make the same decision.”
Jesse Ross said the outcome depended on Cifaldi’s confidence, telling AP, “The only reason it was possible at all was his confidence.”
The story also placed the incident in context of Granite Peak’s conditions, noting that at 12,800 feet (3,900 meters) the mountain is prone to unpredictable weather including dangerous lightning storms and bitter cold.
It further referenced a prior fatality, saying that in 2019 authorities reported a 65-year-old Minnesota man fell about 150 feet (45 meters) to his death after reaching nearly the top of Granite Peak with his son.
