The Gap Years: Climbing, Skiing, and the Journey Back

by Tom French

An inspiring 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.

256 pages, Hardcover

Published April 14, 2026

Reviews

[Tim Weed · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was skeptical at first—a memoir by a wealthy corporate CEO detailing his early-retirement achievements bagging peaks and racing in nordic ski marathons? But I found myself relaxing into this book and eventually began to find it compulsively readable. French is a very impressive guy, maybe even an utterly crazy guy depending on your perspective. Even though I'm a skier and mountain buff myself there were moments in this account when I was like wait! Why are you doing this? But he also has a philosophical side, and moments of appealing vulnerability and humility, and he happens to be a clear and incisive storyteller and descriptive writer as well. I had to read on, and by the end I was inspired to amp up my own levels of outdoor adventuring—though not, it's worth mentioning, anywhere near to degree that French did.

Whether you're nearing retirement or just getting started, if you're into stories of outdoor adventure, I highly recommend this beautifully written and produced hardcover.

I'm grateful to Page One Media for providing me a free copy of this book.