A lot of 8000-meter-plus climbers are ordinary middle-class people. The huge expenses of getting to the Himalayas, paying for permits and gear are covered by sp

A lot of 8000-meter-plus climbers are ordinary middle-class people. The huge expenses of getting to the Himalayas, paying for permits and gear are covered by sponsorships. In some small European countries, no one from there has yet climbed Everest, Nanga Parbat etc. without supplementary oxygen. That means any expedition will get big coverage in national media, and consequently it is easy to obtain sponsorship from local subsidiaries of multinationals (e.g. Pepsi, Johnny Walker, etc.)