Theodore Roosevelt was adamant about pursuing things worthwhile. He believed in spending time on activities that built up strength and character. Mountaineering was increasingly popular during the Victorian Era and sported all of the things that appealed to Roosevelt. He was prone to pursue the physical exertion of climbing, the thrill of exploring seldom visited places, and the accomplishment of reaching the summit. During his college years, just after his father passed away, Roosevelt climbed Maine’s Mount Katahdin. And just a few years later, Roosevelt returned to Europe, on a tour with Alice Lee Roosevelt. On this trip, he climbed the Matterhorn. Roosevelt approached the expedition with angst and claimed that “a man who has been up it [the Matterhorn] can fairly claim to have taken his degree as … a subordinate kind of mountaineer.”

Source: Theodore Roosevelt Center