Making a living as a mountaineer is as iffy as it is dangerous. Aspiring pros typically spend years living out of a van, dumpster-diving with raccoons for food in campground parking lots, and climbing as often as they can. The best ones find a mentor, work summers as park guides, and pick up some sponsors, though they're often paid in swag, not the kind of cash that passes for a real salary. At last, they go on expeditions to the world's major ranges, and if the mission is sufficiently dramatic or they're fortunate enough to survive a CNN-worthy catastrophe, they begin second careers as motivational speakers.
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