Nurse hikes 10 miles with pole through torso

Nurse David Cifaldi was impaled by a trekking pole through his torso while climbing Granite Peak in Montana on July 20.

Cifaldi used his medical training to assess the injury, determining it was a soft tissue wound without lung damage.

Despite the pole remaining in his body, he hiked over 10 miles for 6.5 hours down rough terrain to reach help.

He was accompanied by friends Jesse Ross and Brad Reich, who monitored his condition and used a Garmin satellite device to alert rescue teams.

Cifaldi declined a helicopter rescue, stating he was confident he could descend under his own power.