Always wondered how granola types like this fund these expeditions. Are they privately funded by wealthy individuals or funded personally by working jobs in the off-season? Or family money?
> Rousseau ... guides climbers in Utah and beyond.
> Cornell ... summers around the rock-climbing hub of Yosemite National Park, working at a restaurant (owned by Anker, a mentor) to help fund his pursuits. He lives in a 2003 Freightliner van, with 320,000 miles, [down by the river].
> Marvell ... has a few sponsorship deals and also his own welding business ... climbing up and rappelling down oil platforms, timing repair work with the tides.
Per gram, ultralight climbing gear is pretty expensive. But you can only carry so many grams with you. And yes, plane tickets to Tibet are $1600. Food isn't that expensive. And yes, they had some porters and pack animals to help them walk rations to base camp at 15,000 feet. A lot of people probably spend more on golfing than these guys spent on this epic.
There's a huge difference between the cost of an 'expedition' like this and the cost of adventure tourism. If you're not paying for dozens of people to carry oxygen bottles and dry clothes and tents and warm meals it doesn't cost anything to go outside. And if you structure your life around spending more time climbing/surfing/hiking, it doesn't seem like such an impossibility to not clock in for a few months.
"If you're not paying for dozens of people to carry oxygen bottles and dry clothes and tents and warm meals it doesn't cost anything to go outside."
In some cases unfortunately it does. The local governments of the Himalayas sell quite expensive permits to climb the high summits. This one was probably free, but give it some time and popularity and you will need a expensive permit for doing this as well.
On top of what everyone else said about how they make money, lots of climbers at this level live outrageously frugally and so can easily save up. Marc-Andre Leclerc lived in a stairwell[0], and their dinners are rice and beans or "what was on sale at walmart". Think stereotypical startup incubator of bunk beds and ramen, there's only one goal and it's not day-to-day comfort.
IT is expensive, but not in $$$ terms. You have to dedicate your life to physical training which takes a lot of time. You have to have jobs that let you take a lot of time off. Nothing that is difficult per se, but still not normal.
It is also expensive in life terms - local guides often do dangerous work making this possible.
Ed Viesturs' biography, "No Shortcuts to the Top", covers this well - you can see how he saves money, works various jobs, and pursues sponsorships to fund his Everest, K2, and other big-mountain expeditions.
He'd get a trip all organized, then it will be aborted mid-climb due to weather or other issues, and he'd have to start all over again and take a few years until he can try again.
It's also just a good read if you're interested in the topic.
Combination of everything, including requests for donations. I gave a bit to help a friend climb Everest. He also got free gear and food from suppliers.
Not related to this endeavor but I generally watch people pool enough money from jobs here and there to 'take a shot' at something like this(and obviously everyone's risk tolerance and personal achievement will vary). I do think it is difficult to have a steady career given the amount of dedication that is needed for fitness, planning, etc... for big trips.
Any, none, or all of the above plus sponsorships, ads, competition winnings etc. If an athlete is sponsored they might get a lot of gear and travel paid for along with maybe a cash stipend.
There is a whole spectrum of what it means to be a "professional"
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.
> Rousseau ... guides climbers in Utah and beyond.
> Cornell ... summers around the rock-climbing hub of Yosemite National Park, working at a restaurant (owned by Anker, a mentor) to help fund his pursuits. He lives in a 2003 Freightliner van, with 320,000 miles, [down by the river].
> Marvell ... has a few sponsorship deals and also his own welding business ... climbing up and rappelling down oil platforms, timing repair work with the tides.
Per gram, ultralight climbing gear is pretty expensive. But you can only carry so many grams with you. And yes, plane tickets to Tibet are $1600. Food isn't that expensive. And yes, they had some porters and pack animals to help them walk rations to base camp at 15,000 feet. A lot of people probably spend more on golfing than these guys spent on this epic.
There's a huge difference between the cost of an 'expedition' like this and the cost of adventure tourism. If you're not paying for dozens of people to carry oxygen bottles and dry clothes and tents and warm meals it doesn't cost anything to go outside. And if you structure your life around spending more time climbing/surfing/hiking, it doesn't seem like such an impossibility to not clock in for a few months.