Enumclaw climbers experience 10 minutes on top of the world
Published 12:35 pm Thursday, December 11, 2008
By Casey Steiner
The Courier-Herald
For about 10 minutes on Jan. 20 Enumclaw's Tyler Chilman, Cheryl Chilman and Dr. Chriss Cancro stood on higher ground than anyone else on Earth.
Fighting temperatures that sometimes dipped below zero, altitude complications and better judgment, the trio reached the 22,841 foot summit of Cerro Aconcagua, deep in the Andes of South America, at just after 4:45 p.m. - well past the target summit time for a safe descent. With the climbing season over in the Himalayas, no one could possibly be standing at a higher altitude.
Reaching the top of one of the highly sought after "Seven Summits" were Tyler, 35, assistant jail commander for the city of Enumclaw; his wife of 10 years, Cheryl, an employee at the Enumclaw Starbucks; and Cancro, a 59-year-old orthopedic surgeon.
Mount Rainier Park Ranger Jim Hull, 32, also made the trip, but did not make the summit for health reasons.
Just 20 minutes shy of the summit, the trio had been advised to turn around by another climber with a radio. Aconcagua had been closed, the climber said, due to the "Viento Blanco," the white wind, which made for near whiteout conditions. After a failed attempt on Aconcagua a year ago by the Chilmans, the group's joined hearts were about to be broken again by the uncontrollable weather above 20,000 feet.
While pausing a few moments to contemplate the situation, the weather broke, leaving a clear blue sky ahead and any thoughts of turning around behind.
"We did not train this hard, fly all this way, put in all this work to turn around here," Tyler recalled saying. "We will probably get into some type of trouble but we're going."
Fortunately the Enumclaw group stayed out of trouble, but did manage to meet up with two separate climbers in trouble of their own. A sick French girl who had been left behind by her climbing partner was met at Independencia Refugio, the highest permanent shelter in the world. She, along with another stubborn man believed to have cerebral edema, tagged along on the final upward leg of the journey. The man refused to turn around and also refused medical attention offered by Cancro.
Now with five members, the group double-timed to the summit. In the twilight of that Thursday afternoon not much time was available to safely soak up the moment. They spent 10 minutes on top of the world snapping pictures of each other. Cheryl took pictures of her stuffed animal Bear-Bear and Tyler, who has half-Danish blood lines, got pictures of himself with a Danish flag. Cancro spent the time remembering loved ones including a relative fighting a cancer diagnosis and two nephews, both outdoors enthusiasts, who died in a plane crash.
"I left a card remembering Chris and Tim Jones and honoring Jane Jirous Cancro's struggle with cancer," Cancro said. "I thought of Jane a lot during the climb and Chris and Tim are always on my mind when I'm in the mountains."
After Cheryl helped the sick girl to the summit, the group made a hasty descent through rapidly changing weather conditions. Three hours later they collapsed exhausted, but safe back in their tents at above 19,000 feet.
"During the climb up it was strange, at one point I would feel totally all there just making my way up and at other times I would cover territory and not remember any of it," Tyler recalled. "I guess that was the altitude taking its toll. At times it felt like I had six to eight Guinness in me, just muddling along without a care in the world. Luckily I would snap out of it before I fell over or lost my mojo."
Mojo wasn't the only thing the climbers were fortunate not to lose. The man with cerebral edema had to be air-lifted off the mountain once he made it to lower elevation - he lost an ear to frost bite, but otherwise was in decent health. At least two other climbers died on the Aconcagua during the span of only a few days and two French climbers are still missing on the mountain. The French girl, to the best of the Enumclaw group's knowledge, is safe and sound.
"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 prior to the trip.
Located in Argentina, the "Stone Sentinel," as Aconcagua is nicknamed, is the tallest mountain in South America. Combined with the six highest peaks on the other six continents, the mountains make up the "Seven Summits." Counting Cartensz Pyramid in Australia, Aconcagua is the second of the seven this group has conquered. The group is already considering attempting the summit of Africa's 19,340 foot Kilimanjaro next year, but is soaking up the latest accomplishment before worrying too much about the future.
"It was a real rush," Tyler said. "All the work we put in - it was worth the trip."
Casey Steiner can be reached at csteiner@cmg-northwest2.go-vip.net/courierherald.
