History Main / MountainMan

* ''VideoGame/PunchOut'''s [[BoisterousBruiser Bear]] [[CanadaEh Hugger]] probably qualifies, but he isn't the enemy of the grizzly bear. He ''befriends'' 'em.

* In ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption2'', the Skinner Brothers Gang are a group of insane, sadistic mountain men known for flaying their victims alive. They appear fairly late in the game, and are one of the more dangerous gangs encountered.

As well, they carried a leather bag (called a "possibles bag") for essential equipment (a bullet mold for lead bullets, lead bullets in a bullet pouch, a gunpowder horn, an awl, [[note]]The iron awl was an important tool for the mountain man. It was used to punch holes in leather, which enabled him to make and sew skins and hides into clothes and bags. As well, the iron awl was used for cleaning rifle barrels. [[/note]] knives, a tin cup, a buffalo robe or a blanket, pipe and tobacco, flint and steel for starting fires, a small frying pan or pot), a pack, a "medicine bag" for trap bait, and traps. Mountain men also carried beads and silver jewelry for trading with Indigenous people.

On the trail, they ate "appalos", which were meat and fat that were slow-roasted over a fire, jerky and pemmican (ground up jerky, berries and beef tallow). These methods of cooking and preserving food were also used by Indigenous people. Their beverage of choice on an icy night around a campfire was "Awerdenty", their term for strong whiskey.

As well, they carried a leather bag (called a "possibles bag") for essential equipment (a bullet mold for lead bullets, lead bullets in a bullet pouch, a gunpowder horn, an awl [[note]] The iron awl was an important tool for the mountain man. It was used to punch holes in leather, which enabled him to make and sew skins and hides into clothes and bags. As well, the iron awl was used for cleaning rifle barrels. [[/note]], knives, a tin cup, a buffalo robe or a blanket, pipe and tobacco, flint and steel for starting fires, a small frying pan or pot), a pack, a "medicine bag" for trap bait, and traps. Mountain men also carried beads and silver jewelry for trading with Indigenous people.

** Italy has the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpini Alpini]], raised among the inhabitants of the Alps specifically to defend that border from Austro-Hungarian attacks in case of war. They're considered ''the'' mountain troops, and have managed to outfight the Red Army in ''winter'' (they had been sent to the Eastern Front in UsefulNotes/WorldWarII with plans to deploy them in the Caucasus, and in the meantime, they were deployed in the plains. They all happened to be very good skiers, and the Alps in winter are just as cold as Russian plains...).
** Austria-Hungary's [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaisersch%C3%BCtzen Landesschützen/Kaiserschützen]], originally a territorial militia, later Austria-Hungary counter to the Alpini. They finally fought each other during UsefulNotes/WorldWarI, [[StuffBlowingUp with both forces blowing up multiple mountains because it's easier to do that than to straight-out assaulting it]], and found each others' {{Worthy Opponent}}s.

** In Sweden, a mountain man was a person who worked in the mountain iron mines, most famously in Berslagen and Dalarna. They were nearly always armed (since the Swedish Yeomen -- much like the English -- were required by law to own a certain set of weapons during the middle ages.) and occasionally used said weapons against the King, the Sherriff, or anyone else they felt threatened their interests. Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson is the most famous example of a Swedish mountain man rebel. Sometimes, however, they fought ''for'' the king, like in the case of Gustav Vasa and his Dalecarlians (men from Dalarna.) In a similar vein, people who had committed crimes would ''always'' receive amnesty if they took up work in a mountain mine (except if they had commited murder or high treason.), where they were guarded by "mountain soldiers" who most likely were serving a sentence themselves. Needless to say, they were not nice people.

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* ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} is more TheDrifter in most of his appearances in the "present day" of canon, but he grew up in the backwoods of northern Alberta, which isn't literally mountainous but ''is'' rugged and inhospitable as anything.

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
* ''Film/JeremiahJohnson'' from the movie of the same name is probably one of the most famous examples of this character, he in turn is based on the real-life John Johnson, or Liver Eatin' Johnson.

* Gabby Johnson in ''Film/BlazingSaddles'' who speaks only "Authentic Frontier Gibberish".
%%* Brad Pitt's character in ''Film/LegendsOfTheFall'' seems to become this at the end.%%How?
%%* The [[BigLippedAlligatorMoment Bear Man]] from the new version of ''Film/TrueGrit''.
* Creator/LeonardoDiCaprio plays legendary mountain man UsefulNotes/HughGlass in ''Film/TheRevenant'', about how Glass was mauled by a bear, before miraculously recovering and seeking revenge on those who left him for dead.

* The eponymous ''Film/CrocodileDundee'' is a very similar archetype, albeit in a radically different climate, being an expert tracker and outdoorsman who prefers a solitary lifestyle in the wilderness and obtains most of his income from hunting.

* ''Film/IngloriousBasterds'' has Aldo Raines claim being a direct descendant of the famous mountain man Jim Bridger as to confirm his credentials for the war party tactics he intends his unit to use against the Nazis.
* ''Film/TheMagnificentSeven2016'' features Jack Horne, the [[TheBigGuy big]], [[MadeOfIron tough]] mountain man of the group.
* ''Film/AcrossTheWideMissouri'' is about mountain men hunting and trapping in the Rockies, 1829-30. Interestingly, they aren't as solitary as mountain men are usually shown. They operate as an informal "brigade", and they build a fort before scattering in the mountains, a fort that functions as winter quarters and home base. In that sense this trope is mixed with SettlingTheFrontier.

* ''Literature/ArlyHanks'': Diesel Buchanonis a non-period parody of a mountain man. In a modern(ish) world, he lives in a cave in the Ozarks, scares backpackers, and subsists on squirrels and roadkill.

* The poetry of Creator/RobertWService features many of these. You'll probably only recognize [[http://wordinfo.info/unit/2640?letter=C The Cremation of Sam McGee]].
* Creator/RobertEHoward's Breckenridge Elkins: a 19th century Mountain Man, PlayedForLaughs and, although not well known now, at the time of his death, Howard's most popular character. These days it's Franchise/ConanTheBarbarian.
* Creator/BillBryson's ''A Walk In The Woods'' begins with the author detailing how his wish to become more of an outdoorsman led to him setting out to hike the Appalachian Trail.

* Creator/AlanDeanFoster wrote a series of short stories about [[NamesToRunAwayFrom Mad Amos]] Malone, a GeniusBruiser mountain man who wandered the west from Colorado to ''Hawaii'' and had a variety of supernatural adventures (fighting a Chinese dragon that was robbing stagecoaches, challenging a malevolent spirit to an insult contest, protecting an IndianBurialGround from railroad developers, etc) with his CoolHorse, Worthless (1/4 Clydesdale, 1/4 Arabian, 1/4 Mustang, 1/4 Unicorn).

* Singer/songwriter Music/JonathanCoulton (who wrote "[[VideoGame/{{Portal}} Still Alive]]") bases his image around one of these. He has a coonskin cap and everything.

* Seattle grunge band TAD were [[http://kcts9.org/sites/default/files/imagecache/618x350/homepage-slides/tad618x350adj.jpg often marketed]] as being forest-dwelling lumberjack types early in their career, even though they were actually all suburban kids.

* The old jazz song "The Old Man of the Mountain," famously performed by Music/CabCalloway, centers around an old hermit who lives in the wild near an unspecified mountain, happily depending on natural resources to sustain him.

* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'': The "Hiker", one of the many different standard Trainer types, is represented as cheerful, somewhat heavyset, bearded men in alpine gear, and universally found strolling up on [[DeathMountain high mountains]] and other difficult terrain to train their [[DishingOutDirt Rock]]- and [[BareFistedMonk Fighting]]-type Pokémon.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', the founder and namesake of Springfield was Jedediah Springfield, a mountain man who settled the untamed lands that would become the town and once killed a bear with his bare hands -- or at least, that's how history recorded him. In reality, he was little more than a charlatan -- and the bear killed ''him''.

They are often shown alternating between fighting and hanging out in a friendly way with the local natives, sometimes doing both at the same time with two different tribes. Their other common enemy is the grizzly bear, and they are often shown killing them in hand-to-hand combat. Every summer, mountain men come together for a rendezvous (meeting) to trade and sell furs and goods.

When they are the heroes of the piece, they are often employed as scouts, guides or trackers. They typically work for fur companies. When mountain men were trapping and hunting in a group, the leader was called the "Booshway" (this comes from the French word "bourgeois", used by the French voyageurs). If the story is set in the early 1800s, when the fur trade was booming, they are more likely to be depicted as part of a group. If the story is set in the late 1800s or later, after the decline of the fur trade, they are more likely to be solitary characters. Mountain men may have a background in the army, which gives them good marksmanship. Some may have a DarkAndTroubledPast.

A man who makes his living in the wilderness of Canada or the northern US, most often as trapper or hunter. One of the most recognizable characters in TheWestern, the Mountain Man is always presented as a large man, covered from head to toe in [[NemeanSkinning fur and skins]], even in seasons and areas where these would not be needed. When they want to get fancy, they'll wear fringes as well. The whole ensemble is often topped with a coonskin cap.

As well, they carried a leather bag (called a "possibles bag") for essential equipment (a bullet mold for lead bullets, lead bullets in a bullet pouch, a gunpowder horn, an awl [[note]] The iron awl was an important tool for the mountain man. It was used to punch holes in leather, which enabled him to make and sew skins and hides into clothes and bags. As well, the iron awl was used for cleaning rifle barrels. [[/note]], knives, a tin cup, a buffalo robe or a blanket, pipe and tobacco, flint and steel, a small frying pan or pot), a pack, a "medicine bag" for trap bait, and traps. Mountain men also carried beads and silver jewelry for trading with Indigenous people.

On the trail, they ate "appalos", which were meat and fat that were slow-roasted over a fire, jerky and pemmican (ground up jerky, berries and beef tallow). These methods of cooking and preserving food was also used by Indigenous people. Their beverage of choice on an icy night around a campfire was "Awerdenty", their term for whiskey.

When they are the heroes of the piece, they are often employed as scouts, guides or trackers. They typically work for fur companies. When mountain men were trapping and hunting in a group, the leader was called the "Booshway" (this comes from the French word "bourgeois", used by the French voyageurs).

Common equipment includes a readily accessible long hunting rifle (often anachronistic, such as a flintlock, muzzle-loaded gun), a "Big Fifty" (a .50 caliber Sharps rifle used for buffalo hunting), and of course a ''really'' big knife, either a Bowie knife or an Arkansas toothpick (a type of broad-bladed dagger). As well, they carried a leather bag (called a "possibles bag") for essential equipment (a bullet mold for lead bullets, lead bullets in a bullet pouch, a gunpowder horn, an awl [[note]] The iron awl was an important tool for the mountain man. It was used to punch holes in leather, which enabled him to make and sew skins and hides into clothes and bags. As well, the iron awl was used for cleaning rifle barrels. [[/note]], knives, a tin cup, a buffalo robe or a blanket, pipe and tobacco, flint and steel, a small frying pan or pot), a pack, a "medicine bag" for trap bait, and traps. Mountain men also carried beads and silver jewelry for trading with Indigenous people.

On the trail, they ate "appalos", which were meat and fat that were slow-roasted over a fire, jerky and pemmican (ground up jerky, berries and beef tallow). These methods of cooking and preserving food was also used by Indigenous people. Their beverage of choice on an icy night around a campfire was "Awerdenty", their term for Whiskey.

Common equipment includes a readily accessible long hunting rifle (often anachronistic, such as a flintlock, muzzle-loaded gun), a "Big Fifty" (a .50 caliber Sharps rifle used for buffalo hunting), and of course a ''really'' big knife, either a Bowie knife or an Arkansas toothpick (a type of broad-bladed dagger). As well, they carried a leather bag (called a "possibles bag") for essential equipment (a bullet mold for lead bullets, gunpowder, an awl [[note]] The iron awl was an important tool for the mountain man. It was used to punch holes in leather, which enabled him to make and sew skinsand hides into clothes and bags. As well, the iron awl was used for cleaning rifle barrels. [[/note]], knives, a tin cup, a buffalo robe or a blanket, pipe and tobacco, flint and steel, a small frying pan or pot), a pack, a "medicine bag" for trap bait, and traps,

Common equipment includes a readily accessible long hunting rifle (often anachronistic, such as a flintlock, muzzle-loaded gun), a "Big Fifty" (a .50 caliber Sharps rifle used for big game hunting), and of course a ''really'' big knife, either a Bowie knife or an Arkansas toothpick (a type of broad-bladed dagger). As well, they carried a leather bag (called a "possibles bag") for essential equipment (a bullet mold for lead bullets, an awl, knives, a tin cup, a buffalo robe or a blanket, pipe and tobacco, flint and steel, a small frying pan or pot), a pack, a "medicine bag" for trap bait, and traps,

Common equipment includes leather bag (called a "possibles bag") for essential equipment (a bullet mold for lead bullets, an awl, knives, a tin cup, a buffalo robe or a blanket, pipe and tobacco, flint and steel, a small frying pan or pot), a pack, traps, a long hunting rifle (often anachronistic, such as a flintlock, muzzle-loaded gun), a "Big Fifty" (a .50 caliber Sharps rifle used for big game hunting), and of course a ''really'' big knife, either a Bowie knife or an Arkansas toothpick (a type of broad-bladed dagger).

Common equipment includes a pack, traps, a long hunting rifle (often anachronistic, such as a flintlock, muzzle-loaded gun), a "Big Fifty" a .50 caliber Sharps rifle used for big game hunting, and of course a ''really'' big knife, either a Bowie knife or an Arkansas toothpick (a type of broad-bladed dagger).

On the trail, they ate "appalos", which were meat and fat that were slow-roasted over a fire. This method of cooking and preserving food was also used by Indigenous people. Their beverage of choice on an icy night around a campfire was "Awerdenty", their term for Whiskey.

A man who makes his solitary living in the wilderness of Canada or the northern US, most often as trapper or hunter. One of the most recognizable characters in TheWestern, the Mountain Man is always presented as a large man, covered from head to toe in [[NemeanSkinning fur and skins]], even in seasons and areas where these would not be needed. When they want to get fancy, they'll wear fringes as well. The whole ensemble is often topped with a coonskin cap.

When they are the heroes of the piece, they are often employed as scouts, guides or trackers. They typically work for fur companies.

Common equipment includes a pack, traps, a long hunting rifle (often anachronistic, such as a flintlock, muzzle-loaded gun), and of course a ''really'' big knife, either a Bowie knife or an Arkansas toothpick (a type of broad-bladed dagger).

On the trail, they ate "appalos", which were meat and fat that were slow-roasted over a fire. This method of cooking and preserving food was also used by Indigenous people.

They are often shown alternating between fighting and hanging out in a friendly way with the local natives, sometimes doing both at the same time with two different tribes. Their other common enemy is the grizzly bear, and they are often shown killing them in hand-to-hand combat.

Common equipment includes various traps, a long rifle (often anachronistic), and of course a ''really'' big knife, either a Bowie knife or an Arkansas toothpick (a type of broad-bladed dagger).

As the heyday of mountain trappers was before that of cattle drives, he may be visibly older than the cowboys and other stock characters. His rifle will often be out-of-date (as previously noted), he may speak in a strange or antiquated way, and he may not be aware of changes in urban centers.

Common equipment includes various traps, a rifle (often anachronistic), and of course a ''really'' big knife, either a Bowie knife or an Arkansas toothpick (a type of broad-bladed dagger).

When they are the heroes of the piece, they are often employed as scouts or trackers.

As the heyday of mountain trappers was before that of cattle drives, he may be visibly older than the cowboys and other stock characters. His gun will often be out-of-date (as previously noted) and he may speak in a strange or antiquated way.

They are often shown alternating between fighting and hanging out with the local natives, sometimes doing both at the same time with two different tribes. Their other common enemy is the grizzly bear, and they are often shown killing them in hand-to-hand combat.

In newer media, they are often portrayed having native wives. This was quite a common occurrence historically, but for most of the 20th century [[PoliticallyCorrectHistory wasn't shown in media]], due to stronger interracial marriage taboos than now.

They are often portrayed as incredibly strong, being TheBigGuy of western characters. This is also one of the character types most prone to [[GoingNative going native]].