It's not that expensive unless you have to travel far enough warranting an overnight stay. I was able to afford decent equipment and lift passes from working a cashier job in high school. You could buy used equipment for a family of 5 for under $1000. Check out craigslist in some mountain towns, you can find higher end equipment that's a only a few years old for dirt cheap.
You're just going to ignore the other half of the post where I said the following?
>You could buy used equipment for a family of 5 for under $1000. Check out craigslist in some mountain towns, you can find higher end equipment that's a only a few years old for dirt cheap.
Having a lot of disposable income helps, too.
Or if you're a dirtbag, the ability to live as cheaply as possible so you can spend as much time as possible on the mountain.