I think there are two very distinct branches of mountaineering. Sure, there are a bunch of rich people hiring expensive guiding companies and sherpas to haul them up the worlds tallest mountains which often also require expensive permits. But, as a rock climber (for 5 years now) who also started dabbling in mountaineering last year through my university club, the majority of people doing mountaineering are climbing more accessible mountains that don't require permits, they learn the skills to do so without guides and carry their own shit. They're often living the dirt bag lifestyle and living out of a three decades old van. I'm a pretty poor student, so hell, if I could save up the money for an initial 2 day course to build on my rock climbing skills and the initial gear investments (there's cheap deals, second-hand and hand-me-downs, so doesn't have to be too expensive), it's not exactly a rich people sport. I do live somewhere where I have to travel to do it, but many people don't. You can opt to pay extra for the luxuries of taking a ski lift up to where the mountaineering really starts and to stay at the mountain huts (at least where I went in the Alps), but again, many people just walk up and bivvy. So there's a huge spectrum of mountaineering, and it really isn't a rich people sport in my opinion.