US hiker climbs down mountain after being impaled by trekking pole

A US hiker has described the extraordinary ordeal of walking 16km down a mountain after impaling himself with a trekking pole during a fall.

David Cifaldi was climbing Montana’s Granite Peak, the state’s highest mountain, with two friends on 20 July when he slipped on loose rocks about 16km into the ascent. As he fell, one of his trekking poles drove through his torso in what he later described as a freak accident.

“I just slipped on a rock,” said Cifaldi, a 32-year-old nurse from Billings. “It was just kind of a freak thing.”

Drawing on his medical training, Cifaldi quickly assessed the severity of his injuries before attempting the long descent.

“I think my nurse brain kicked on pretty quick,” he told Backpacker magazine. “I was able to feel the trekking pole through my skin.” He deliberately took several deep breaths to check whether the pole had punctured his lung or chest. Realising it had narrowly missed vital organs, he decided to keep moving.

Despite the serious injury, Cifaldi and his companions spent more than six hours making their way back to the trailhead, where emergency responders transported him to hospital. He was later transferred to Intermountain Health in Billings, where surgeons safely removed the section of trekking pole.

The remarkable incident serves as a reminder that even experienced hikers can be caught out by a simple slip in rugged mountain terrain. Trekking poles are invaluable for stability on uneven ground, but accidents can happen in an instant, making preparation, sound judgement and hiking with companions all the more important.

Check out this YouTube vide on the incident – but warning it’s a little graphic.