[lispisok]

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.

[OfSanguineFire]

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.