here's the ?... (think old west)

Before the settlers,before the stagecoachess,these rugged loners
wrestled through the Rockiess looking for their fortunes. They were
known as mountainn men. This man was known as the 1st. What was his
name?

thanks! I can't find a decent answer.

Thank you for accepting my suggestion of John Colter as your answer. 

This was a tough one! Choosing just one of the mountain men as the
"first" is difficult, but I think you can be reasonably certain that
John Colter is your guy. Particularly compelling evidence: a book
called "John Colter: First Mountain Man," and a miniature metal
figurine called "John Colter, First of the Mountain Men."

Below I've reposted material from my earlier comments.

"Glass introduces his stories with the travels of Lewis and Clark
(leaving out Sacajawea, which is peculiar and somewhat offensive); a
member of the expedition, John Colter, is described as the first
mountain man."

Amazon: Mountain Men: True Grit and Tall Tales
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0385908415

"Now available as an eBook from Anvil Publishers! 

John Colter: First Mountain Man by Dr. William B. Schafer, M.D." 

Anvil Publishers
http://www.anvilpub.com/mountain_man.htm

"History describes the first two mountain men as members of Lewis and
Clark's Corps of Discovery, but private John Colter had left the
expedition in about 1806 as it was on its way back, on the headwaters
of the Missouri River. George Drouillard came back a year later to
undertake the life of fur-trapping. Both men worked for the Spaniard,
Manuel Lisa, who was clandestinely trading furs out of St. Louis."

Ed Johnston: The Life and Times of John Colter 
http://www.edjohnston.com/edsci/colter1.htm
  
"John Colter, First of the Mountain Men"

Worster Miniatures 
http://www.milminwh.com/worster_west.htm

My Google search strategy:

"john colter" "mountain man OR men" first
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&q=%22john+colter%22+%22mountain+man+OR+men%22+first

Good luck!

~Pink

Wow.. now that was alot of research!!

Before Ashley and Henry ran their famous advertisement in the St.
Louis Gazette, the Astor's had 's famous advertisement for young
men...

"The first American fur trading expedition was formed by John Jacob
Astor. He hoped to cross the continent overland and by sea, and create
a trading post at the mouth of the Columbia River. William Price Hunt
used the information supplied by the Lewis and Clark expedition to
lead the overland Astorians. They reached the mouth of the Columbia in
February of 1812 where the fort "Astoria" had already been erected by
the seafaring group that had arrived months earlier. Leading the
return overland expedition was Robert Stuart. This group would lay the
groundwork for the Oregon Trail by finding the South Pass through the
Rocky Mountains, a route that had eluded both the Lewis and Clark
expedition and Hunt. The discovery of the South Pass was the key to a
continental passage by land. The importance of Stuart's feat was
recognized immediately, though the Missouri Gazette exaggerated the
ease with which a crossing could be done: "By information received of
these gentlemen, it appears that a journey across the continent of
North America might be performed with a wagon."

Sorry about the mess at the beginning of the above comment. Long day. ---l

I vote for Jedediah Smith.

"The men that searched the wild areas of the Rockies for beaver became
known as the 'mountain men.' Many of these mountain men became known
for helping to settle Oregon Country and the rest of the west. Two of
the men who got their start out west as fur trappers, Jedediah Smith
and Joe Meek, left an indelible mark on the Oregon Country.

Jedediah Smith explored many mountain areas during his fur trapping
time. He was the first white man to cross the Sierra Nevada reaching
California by land from the east."

National Park Service: MOUNTAIN MEN 
http://www.nps.gov/whmi/educate/ortrtg/6or4.htm

"Dale Morgan notes that Jedediah Smith must be credited with being the
first to find and recognize the natural gateway to the Oregon country
through South Pass; the first overland traveler to reach California;
the first white man of record to cross the Sierra Nevada; and the
first to travel overland from California to the Columbia."

Amazon.com: Jedediah Smith and the Opening of the West
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0803251386

How about Paul Bunyon?

Steph53

Here's a different approach. Your question does not specify that the
man we are discussing here was known as "the first mountain man" but
simply known historically as "the first":

James (Jim) Bridger was indeed a mountain man who traveled the Rockies
with the likes of Hugh Glass, Jedediah Smith, and Thomas
Fitzpatrick...BUT he is also believed to have been THE FIRST white man
to see the Great Salt Lake. Here then would be one explanation:
Mountain Man Jim Bridger is in fact known as "the first".

MOUNTAIN MAN JIM BRIDGER
http://xroads.virginia.edu/~HYPER/HNS/Mtmen/jimbrid.html

tutuzdad-ga

Note that Jedediah Smith is described as "the first" in several
categories in the articles I mentioned:

the first to find and recognize the natural gateway to the Oregon country
through South Pass

the first overland traveler to reach California

the first white man of record to cross the Sierra Nevada 

the first to travel overland from California to the Columbia.

wow! these are great answers. Well.. which of the two went into the
rockies? Wouldn't the southpass be the sierra nevada mts? Are these
part of the rockies??

hmmm... I appreciate all that you guys have done this far. I'll double
my price if someone can find an article that says one of them was the
first mountain man.

Here's an interesting possibility: John Colter.

"Glass introduces his stories with the travels of Lewis and Clark
(leaving out Sacajawea, which is peculiar and somewhat offensive); a
member of the expedition, John Colter, is described as the first
mountain man."

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0385908415

"Now available as an eBook from Anvil Publishers! 

John Colter: First Mountain Man by Dr. William B. Schafer, M.D." 

http://www.anvilpub.com/mountain_man.htm

"History describes the first two mountain men as members of Lewis and
Clark's Corps of Discovery, but private John Colter had left the
expedition in about 1806 as it was on its way back, on the headwaters
of the Missouri River. George Drouillard came back a year later to
undertake the life of fur-trapping. Both men worked for the Spaniard,
Manuel Lisa, who was clandestinely trading furs out of St. Louis."

http://www.edjohnston.com/edsci/colter1.htm

"John Colter, First of the Mountain Men"

http://www.milminwh.com/worster_west.htm

Hey pink.. I'll accept that as an answer.Thanks for your work... how
do I close the question and make sure you get paid?

Thanks for the five stars and the nice tip! Hope you ace the contest!

~Pink

What about Alexander MacKenzie?