Upper middle class and wealthier parents. Even if they are living a budget "dirtbag" lifestyle they always have parents for a cash infusion if they need it. People who can afford not to work.
I’m not going to say that it is the common method, but I’ve seen what parent describes for multiple people. I’ll be the first to admit that I probably live in an upper middle class bubble these days, but it certainly happens.
OTOH, I’ve known people that live in a trailer and had a Harley-Davidson motorcycle that was worth more than the trailer. So one doesn’t have to reach terribly far to find someone that is living their priorities. Just because you aren’t willing to work odd jobs and live in a van to finance your badminton career doesn’t mean others aren’t.
I am not saying it is crazy to think that some people get by with the help of their parents, but to blatantly just generalize "these granola types" who just accomplished one of the absolute craziest climbs in history...comes off a little uneducated.
Been around a lot of climbers and skiers, many of whom at the elite level. The kind of lifestyle necessary to get to that level requires you to practice your sport instead of earning money, so you need outside support to live aka wealthy family. I dont think I've met a single person at high level in these activities who didnt come from a wealthy family. I am not trying to take away from their skill and accomplishment but that's the financial reality. It wasnt always this way but as the skill ceiling went up and cost of living went up it became more necessary.
Within the Central and Eastern European mountaineering scene that occasionally does expeditions to the Eight Thousanders, there are plenty of climbers who do not come from wealthy families. After all, such intergenerational transmission of wealth got interrupted during the socialist era, but the state provided infrastructure for people to enter the sport regardless of their background. Instead, the money comes from sponsorships.
I know this firsthand, as a friend of mine is such a climber, and my language-services business has provided native-English revision of his and his peers’ sponsorship applications for some years now. In between expeditions, it is a constant hustle for money.
well the American alpine club has an average income that's in the six figures iirc. however when there's an annual fee of $100 or so, it's a bit of selection bias.
however one of their perks is the "Live your dream" grant where they fund amateur climbers to go on their dream trip once a year. it's application based but I've known people who've gone to the Karakorum on it.
"well the American alpine club has an average income that's in the six figures iirc" how do you even come by information like this? The lowest membership fee is 45$ and as you mentioned it filters out a significant portion of the climbing population. If you are using a charity that likely has multi millionaires as part of its membership as part of your generalization for incomes across the whole climbing population...I would consider the possibility that you are way off.
