A Steel Pole Pierced His Body. He Hiked 10 Miles Off A Mountain Anyway.

A Montana caregiver impaled by his ain trekking rod precocious connected nan state's tallest upland stunned rescuers by refusing a chopper removal and hiking 10 miles backmost to information pinch nan alloy shaft still sticking retired of his body.

David Cifaldi, 32, was climbing Granite Peak pinch 2 friends aft crossing nan notorious Froze-to-Death Plateau erstwhile he slipped and his 44-inch steel-tipped trekking rod drove beneath his near limb and retired done his back.

Remarkably, nan rod missed his lungs and different vital organs.

Instead of calling for an airlift, Cifaldi — a coiled attraction caregiver astatine a Billings infirmary — examined himself and concluded nan wounded was survivable.

"I was like, 'We've sewage to get disconnected this mountain,'" Cifaldi said. While his friends questioned nan plan, he remained confident. "I'm beautiful assured this is extracurricular my thorax wall. 'Tis but a soma wound."

The trio utilized a outer Garmin inReach instrumentality to notify authorities they intended to make their ain measurement down earlier mounting disconnected connected a grueling six-hour trek crossed boulders, snowfields and rugged backcountry.

By nan clip they reached nan trailhead, Cifaldi had hiked astir 10 miles and descended astir 5,000 feet pinch nan rod still lodged successful his body.

"The only logic it was imaginable astatine each was his confidence," friend Jesse Ross said. "He's nan aesculapian person. Our occupation was conscionable to support."

Stillwater County Search and Rescue monitored nan group's advancement but did not intervene aft Cifaldi declined assistance.

"There was nary threat to anybody else," Search and Rescue commandant Ty Williams said. "He didn't want our thief and we're not going to unit it connected him."

After reaching their vehicle, nan hikers drove to a adjacent session earlier Cifaldi was transferred to St. Vincent Regional Hospital successful Billings — nan aforesaid infirmary wherever he works.

Doctors removed nan trekking pole, treated his injuries and released him. Within days, Cifaldi was backmost astatine work.

Looking back, he said he would make nan aforesaid determination again.

"I deliberation 99 times retired of a 100 I would make nan aforesaid decision," he said. He acknowledged nan imaginable costs of a chopper formation factored into his prime but said having 2 knowledgeable friends and a measurement to interaction rescuers gave him assurance to hike retired connected his own.