There is no wonder why there are more and more people who are getting hooked all around the world. For the most adventurous and fun-loving people, no mountain should be left unclimbed. For them, every mountain is a new challenge.

Since mankind has known the world, there were already mountains. People used to go down from mountains, not climb them, because early civilizations were usually established on the riverside, in valleys or in flat lands.

So when did people start the hobby of climbing mountains? The answer lies on mountain climbing's rich and trivial history.

In 1991, a corpse of a man was found in the Otztal Alps glacier located between Italy and Austria. The corpse was named Otzi the Iceman, the oldest naturally mummified human in Europe. It was estimated that Otzi lived in about 3,500 BC.

Otzi was said to be climbing the mountain when he had met his death. He was preserved in the glacier. He provided researchers with the view on how the copper-stone age Europeans looked and dressed. Not only that, Otzi made it in the history of mountain climbing.

Otzi is the first man identified to have climbed a mountain. He was discovered just lately, but it's never too late to give him the credence.

However, the first ever documented mountain climbing activity was done by Roman Emperor Hadrian in 121 AD. Emperor Hadrian climbed the volcanic mountain of Etna, which was located in eastern Sicily. The mountain, which was proven to be an active volcano, stands 10, 902 feet (3,325.1 meter) tall.

Poet Petrarch of Italy successfully climbed Mount Ventoux in Southern France on April 26, 1336. Petrarch completed an account of the mountain climbing experience and published it. He even made poems and composed other literary pieces pertaining to the mountain and to the experience.

Several other people have followed suit. Now, there is no mountain on the face of the mountain that is left unconquered by mankind. There are many firsts on every mountain. There is the first man to reach the tallest summit of Mt Everest, the tallest mountain in the world.

All those firsts and the bizarre conditions linked to the mountain climbing conquest makes the history of mountain climbing pile up. As a fun activity, mountain climbing sure is one of a kind.