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

Contributors:

Tom French (Author)

Contributors: Tom French (Author)

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BISAC categories: Sports & Recreation -> Mountaineering ->

BISAC categories: Biography & Autobiography -> Adventurers & Explorers ->

BISAC categories: Sports & Recreation -> Winter Sports -> Skiing

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Product Description

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.
ISBN-10: 1684583020
ISBN-13: 9781684583027
Author: French, Tom
Publisher: Brandeis University Press

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781684583027

ISBN-10: 1684583020

Publish Date: April 14, 2026

On Sale Date: January 1, 0001

Language: English

Pages: 256

Dimensions: 9.28 × 6.32 × 0.94 in

Weight: 1.41 lbs

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