I was not an Olympian, but xc raced at a national class level both as a junior and d1. Putzed around Nordic combined but was not national class in that endeavor. Raced against and grew up with multiple Olympians in Colorado. Not a one was from Vail, or Beaver Creek. One was from Aspen. Several summit county, A bunch from Steamboat, and several from Winter Park. Winter Park was a hotbed of jumping until Intrawest tore down the jump complex 20 years ago. The Colorado Nordic and Nordic combined culture of the 70s and 80s was not at all as you describe-if not blue collar, certainly middle class. One of the better American jumpers of the 1984 games commuted to winter park from Denver. Many others did the same. The kids that lived in the mountains were children of miners, school teachers, ranchers and building contractors. Of the kids I raced against, I can't think of one I would consider rich or even upper middle class. And I was active in the scene for a decade. I'm no longer heavily involved, but still aware. By all observations, it remains a similar culture. The alpine side is a different story, but I can't remember any of the rich ones who made it past d1. Colorado snow don't make good technical alpine skiers.