By Casey Steiner

The Courier-Herald

The stuffed animal, or "Bear-Bear," as it is named by owner Cheryl Chilman, has ridden safely amongst hiking gear to the top of more than a dozen of the tallest mountains worldwide, and in January will ride on the attempted ascent of Cerro Aconcagua, one of the "Seven Summits."

"He's our child, we take him everywhere," Cheryl said, speaking of her relationship with husband Tyler Chilman, who have no walking, talking children of their own to this point.

With years of planning invested, daily treks up Mount Peak, tens of thousands of dollars invested and one failed summit attempt behind them, nothing but a trip deep into the Andes of South America stands between four Enumclaw locals, a stuffed bear and the 22,841-foot Aconcagua.

"Sometimes just getting to the mountain is the hardest part," Cheryl said.

City of Enumclaw Assistant Jail Commander Tyler Chilman, 35, and his wife of 10 years, Enumclaw Starbucks employee Cheryl, 34, will join friends Dr. Chriss Cancro, 59, and Mount Rainier Park Ranger Jim Hull, 32, in an attempted summit of the mountain in January.

After a hike to Camp Canada at 16,000 feet more than a year ago, 90 mph winds and a snowstorm denied the Chilman couple and Hull (Cancro didn't make the trip) a trek to the top of Aconcagua, the tallest mountain in the Western and Southern hemispheres.

"Considering weather and other factors, it is said you have about a 30 to 40 percent chance of actually making the top," Cheryl said.

Argentina's "Stone Sentinel," as the mountain is nicknamed, is one of the highly sought after Seven Summits. The tallest mountain in each of the seven continents, including the most feared mountain of them all, Everest, make up the seven. Depending on who one talks to, Aconcagua will mark the second of the seven the Chilmans have conquered.

"Some people count Australia as the seventh continent, some don't (Australasia). If Australia is counted, then we have climbed Kosciuszko," Tyler said.

More than $8,000 has been invested per person. After climbs of about 15 mountains worldwide in Europe, Australia, South America, North America and Mexico, some of them several times (Rainier 10 times), the group plans to pass on paying an extra $2,000 apiece, and make the climb without a guide.

"Aconcagua is not a very technical climb, less so than Rainier due to the crevasses," Tyler said. "Plus guides cost a whole lot more money."

After purchasing a required permit to enter the Aconcagua Provincial Park for $330, a 20-day window is granted to make the climb. This group hopes to enter and leave the park within 14 to 16 days.

Instead of the accompaniment of guides, the four hikers will have a mule or two to help carry gear to Plaza de Mulas (base camp) at 14,000 feet. At about the same elevation as the summit of Rainier, Plaza de Mulas has a large lodge where "trekkers," those who have no intention of climbing Aconcagua and are sometimes just day climbers, can take advantage of sleeping quarters, food accommodations and even a small gift shop.

About 5,000 people attempt the climb each year, meaning a lot of people can be found on the mountain at any given time.

"You can find 500 or more people at base camp," Cheryl said.

Of those who attempt the climb, according to Tyler, a handful die on the mountain each year from sicknesses, accidents, injuries and other factors.

"I always think before I leave that I may never come back. Giving respect to the mountain forces you to stay on your toes. It forces you to listen to your body and pay close attention to your partners," Tyler said.

He recalls stories of gravesites on Aconcagua.

"There is one site where nothing but the plastic mountaineering boots stick out of a pile of rocks. There are other cases where it can take more than a week to carry a body off the mountain. I was told of an attempted helicopter rescue at the summit - the helicopter crashed and the hiker died," Tyler said.

Altitude sickness, with nasty weather at the summit a close second, is the top fear of the Chilmans. Altitude sickness, or acute mountain sickness (AMS), can be fatal if ignored for more than 12 hours and has symptoms similar to drunkenness.

"You can get terrible headaches, feel tired, nauseated, shortness of breath and lose your fine motor skills," Tyler said. "If you're not careful you can get edema in the lungs or brain and die."

Tyler experienced altitude sickness last year on the 18,800 foot El Pico de Orizaba in Mexico.

"He had the worst headache of his life and refused to eat," Cheryl said. "I was really scared for a while, but I finally got him to eat something and the headache went away after about 12 hours."

The Chilmans have been climbing since 1995. Cheryl hated the first hike, but after seeing beautiful pictures of Tyler at the top of Mount Adams, she decided her husband would never climb again without her.

"That's all it took," Cheryl said.

Bear-Bear may soon have a sibling as the couple plans to start a family in the next year.

When asked about the next conquest on the list of the Seven Summits, Tyler said, "I'm going and she'll stay home with the kid."

"Uh-uh," replied Cheryl with a smile. "I'm going, you're staying home."

Casey Steiner can be reached at csteiner@courierherald.com.