1 . It'd _______ been climbed by local and foreign men, and local women, but a Western female, who'd _______ unaccompanied and wanted to climb the mountain, was quite _______.

I explained that I'd been _______ for some time—in research and in physical strength—and showed them the _______ I had from their government authorizing my climb. I stressed that I'd be very _______ to keep their local traditions and hire one of their villagers as a guide, but it seemed to do little to reduce their _______.

The male villagers told me that the quick mud I'd meet would swallow me. While they couldn't remember anyone this bad actually _______, they seemed convinced it was a real _______. The village women, however, smiled at me, indicating their ________ for my climb.

The men ________ relaying stories of unpredictable danger. However, I was ________ because my aunt's words kept ________ in my ears—the greatest risk is not taking a risk, and we should always ________ our dreams.

Eventually, the men agreed to an ________ that seemed to put them at ease with my climb. Besides the local guide I'd hire, they also ________ me to hire three guards with guns, for protection.

As I started walking down the dirt path toward the mountain, I was ________ not only by my new mountain support team, but also by every village woman. They danced in circles around us as if in ________ of a victory.

I knew I wasn't the first Western female to make the climb. But with the women villagers   ________ me, I felt a strong sense of ________. And I suspected they felt the same.