History

Picture of a mountaineer by Josef Feid Anastasius Grün

Historically, many cultures have harbored superstitions about mountains, which they often regarded as sacred due to their proximity with heaven, such as Mount Olympus for the Ancient Greeks.

In 1492, Antoine de Ville, lord of Domjulien and Beaupré, was the first to ascend the Mont Aiguille, in France, with a little team, using ladders and ropes. It appears to be the first recorded climb of any technical difficulty, and has been said to mark the beginning of mountaineering.

In 1573 Francesco De Marchi and Francesco Di Domenico ascended Corno Grande, the highest peak in the Apennine Mountains. During the Enlightenment, as a product of the new spirit of curiosity for the natural world, many mountain summits were surmounted for the first time. Richard Pococke and William Windham made a historic visit to Chamonix in 1741. In 1760, the Swiss scientist, Horace-Bénédict de Saussure, offered a reward for the first person to ascend Mont Blanc in France, which was claimed in 1786.

By the early 19th century many of the alpine peaks were reached; the Grossglockner in 1800, the Ortler in 1804, the Jungfrau in 1811, the Finsteraarhorn in 1812, and the Breithorn in 1813.