Additional Praise
A gripping story of high altitude mountaineering, competitive cross-country skiing, and real-life risk; in a multi year quest pursuing life’s dreams head on without regrets. Tom highlights the importance of knowing why!
—Garrett Madison, Climbing guide, founder of Madison Mountaineering
“As Tom French returns, at age sixty, to the nordic trails of New England and the peaks of the Himalayas, he reminds us that the most elegant outdoor journeys always end where they begin. The Gap Years is a riveting must-read for any mountain athlete wishing to keep the fire burning.”
—Michael Wejchert, author of Hidden Mountains: Survival and Reckoning After a Climb Gone Wrong
“Joy floods Tom’s life and his writing; with climbing logistics and impossible weather, with friendships built with fellow climbers, guides, and Sherpas. He writes for himself, but also for those who prefer the proverbial armchair to read what it took to descend Everest’s Lhotse face in a snowstorm, or to stand on Cholatse’s summit in bright sunshine.”
—Laura Waterman, author of Calling Wild Places Home
“As a veteran of 15 Everest expeditions I was moved by Tom’s description of this special region of Nepal. The Gap Years allows armchair adventures a glimpse into climbing and skiing at the highest level, while chasing the zeal of youth.”
—Mike Hammill, author of Climbing the Seven Summits
“The Gap Years is an inspiring tale of one man’s rediscovery of the physicality that once defined him.”
—Scott Johnston, author of Training for the Uphill Athlete and Training for the New Alpinism, former member of the US Ski Team
“Tom French shows it’s never too late to reignite old passions. His journey is a powerful reminder that age is no barrier to rediscovering what truly makes us feel alive.”
—Bill Koch, 1976 Olympic Silver Medalist, 1982 Overall World Cup Champion
“The Gap Years takes us on a captivating journey from corporate boardrooms to the summits of the highest mountains of the world. Along the way, it vividly confirms how much meaning and joy remain to be discovered in the latter chapters of our lives.”
—Max Landsberg, author of The Call of the Mountains, and The Tao of Coaching
“In The Gap Years, Tom French shares an inspiring tribute to what draws us to the mountains, and to why we need to protect them for future generations.”
—Kristin Harila, Norwegian mountaineer, 2022 European Adventurer of the Year
