Nouvelle arrivée
The Gap Years
The Sports Plus take
Retiring, then climbing Everest. Twice.
After four decades in business, Tom French retired at the end of 2019 and gave himself a gap year to return to what he loved when he was young: mountaineering, Nepal and cross-country ski racing. One year turned into three. He raced ski marathons and made two Everest expeditions, turning back in a cyclone on the first and reaching the summit on the second after approaching through the remote Makalu Barun region, the first climber ever to do so. It's an adventure story and a thoughtful one about starting over.
Shelf
How it reads
Moderate
Best for
- Mountaineers and backcountry skiers
- Cross-country ski racers
- Anyone starting a new chapter
About this book
- Author
- Tom French
- Publisher
- Brandeis University Press
- Published
- April 14, 2026
- Format
- Hardcover
- Pages
- 256
- ISBN-10
- 1684583020
- ISBN-13
- 978-1684583027
Book description
A story of adventure and endurance in a quest to rediscover the passions of youth.
At the end of 2019, Tom French retired from a four-decade career in business, determined to return to interests that had defined his youth and see what meaning they still held. One of these interests was mountaineering. Another was adventure travel, with a particular focus on Nepal. A third was cross-country ski racing. Having taken "gap years" between school and university, and again before he started work, he decided to take a gap year before settling into the expectations of retirement.
One year turned into three as he rebuilt his athletic strength, competed in cross-country ski marathons, and climbed some of the world's highest mountains, including two expeditions to Mount Everest. On the first Everest climb, a cyclone forced him to turn around high on the mountain and descend the treacherous Lhotse Face in a blizzard. On the second, he approached the mountain through the remote Makalu Barun region, the first climber ever to do so, and climbed to the summit on a moonlit night.
But this is a book about much more than Everest. It is about beauty and joy found in wild places, about cross-country ski racing and mountaineering more broadly, and - most of all - about a journey to find meaning in life and reconnect with the passions of youth.
About the author
Tom French is a lifelong mountaineer, cross-country skier and lover of the outdoors. A senior partner emeritus of McKinsey & Company, he is board chair of the Trustees of Reservations and a director of Corning Incorporated. He lives in Massachusetts with his wife, Jill.
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