July 30, 2026 / 7:36 AM EDT
/ AP
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Billings, Montana — David Cifaldi and his two hiking companions were crossing Montana's ominous Froze-to-Death Plateau and approaching the top of the state's highest peak when their adventure took a bizarre and dangerous turn: Cifaldi slipped and impaled himself on his trekking pole as he fell.The 44-inch steel-tipped pole passed through the flesh beneath Cifaldi's left arm, missing any vital organs, and protruded from his back. After conferring with his friends - and considering the high cost of a helicopter rescue - Cifaldi knew who would save him: himself. "I was like, 'We've got to get off this mountain.' And they're both like, 'I don't know about that,'" Cifaldi said of his friends' initial reaction. "I'm pretty confident this is outside my chest wall. 'Tis but a flesh wound."
This photo provided by David Cifaldi shows Cifaldi after he impaled himself on a trekking pole while attempting to climb Montana's highest summit, Granite Peak, on July 20, 2026.
