Montana man impales himself on trekking pole, hikes 10 miles to safety instead of calling helicopter

A man impales himself on trekking pole while climbing Montana's highest peak, hikes 10 miles to safety instead of calling a helicopter A hiking trip to Montana's highest mountain turned into a remarkable survival story after a nurse accidentally impaled himself on a trekking pole but still managed to hike nearly 10 miles to safety instead of waiting for a helicopter rescue.According to AP, David Cifaldi, a 32-year-old wound care nurse from Billings, was climbing Granite Peak with two friends when he slipped while crossing the notoriously dangerous Froze-to-Death Plateau. During the fall, the 44-inch steel-tipped trekking pole pierced the flesh beneath his left arm, passed through his body, and protruded from his back.Despite the horrifying injury, the pole missed all vital organs.'We've got to get off this mountain'After checking his condition, Cifaldi remained surprisingly calm."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."Working in wound care at a hospital, Cifaldi relied on his medical training to assess the injury. He found that...