Many people see cost as a major obstacle for going on longer duration hikes. Commercial hikes are expensive indeed - you might pay say 20.000Rs for a 5-day hike to a touristic destination crowded with hundreds of other hikers. This requires significant savings and is obviously not financially sustainable over longer periods.

One major benefit of going alpine style, e.g. planning your own route and journey (no guide), carrying your own gears, food and night shelter (no camps) is that cost significantly gets reduced to "food only". And food is pretty cheap, especially in more remote locations away from the commercial / touristic places.

In my 2019 4 month trans Himalayan journey across 120 passes throughout the Western Himalayas I spent 24.000Rs for the entire 4 month journey or just 200Rs per day. And as a minimalist fast hiker I cover 1 pass per day which means I spent just 200Rs per pass. This is a sharp contrast to paying 20.000Rs for a single pass or lake or peak which usually takes 3-5 days with a commercial group. That's a factor 100x reduction in expense!!!

The satisfaction of planning your own journey combined with minimal expense is a double win for the alpine hiker.