Trekking pole pierced nurse’s torso, he hiked 10 miles to get help

A 32-year-old nurse walked more than 10 miles down a rocky mountain with a metal trekking pole stuck through his side after a fall near the top of Granite Peak in Montana. David Cifaldi, who lives in Billings, spent six and a half hours walking over rough ground to get help while the pole stayed in his body.The accident happened on July 20 while Cifaldi and two friends, Jesse Ross and Brad Reich, were climbing the 12,799-foot mountain. The group was 10 miles into the walk, near an height of 12,000 feet, when Cifaldi slipped on loose rocks."It was just kind of a freak thing," Cifaldi told local television station KTMF. "As I rolled over, I noticed one of my trekking poles laying on the ground.