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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#129: Ski Season

For some of us in the Northern hemisphere, the cold wintery months of January and February come with the promise of the ski season — a light at the end of the tunnel of short, dark days. Whether you’re gallivanting around the Alps, or just taking a sledge to your local snowy hillside, there’s definitely adventure to be found at this time of year.

Whether you find the chill bracing, biting, or something else entirely, let’s thaw any ice that formed over your creative spirit this winter with the help of this week’s prompts!

This week's prompts

Begin your story with a character crashing into something (or someone) while skiing.

Adventure – 30 stories

Write about a skier who accidentally strays off-piste.

Adventure – 30 stories

Set your story in a snowed-in chalet.

Winter – 56 stories

Write your story from the point of view of someone learning or teaching an extreme hobby.

Narrative – 19 stories

Your character runs an inn for resting mountaineers. It’s a calm life, until they encounter a twist of fate.

Winter – 47 stories

Stories

“MOUNTAINEER INN” by Sheila Carpenter

Submitted to Contest #129

Lisa: Inherited her parents' house due to their demise. A desolated house on Mount Everest. She was all alone and feeling lonely most of the time so she would take photos of the tall mountains on her daily hikes. One day while out hiking, she came across some Mountaineers who were lost and stranded and needed a place to rest; that's when she got the idea to turn her house into a Mountaineer Inn. There were 8 of them, and she told them to make themselves at home. It was a cold and windy night; the trees made a loud brisk noise against the hou...

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“Lodge with a Mountain View” by Robert Obszanski

Submitted to Contest #129

“Check in the rear storage room, they might be in there,” Ronnie shouted at his wife as he carried bags of supplies across the lobby. “I did, they’re not there,” came the response. “Then I don’t know.” The guests standing by the reception desk followed Ronnie’s spirited movements with their collect gaze as...

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“The Charging Bear” by Tyra Walker

Submitted to Contest #129

“I’m telling you Barry, she was driving me crazy. I’ve never been so happy for it to be such a dry month.” The dark-haired, burly man in the thick coat leaned against the bar, his face flush from ale. He was among at least a dozen guests of the cozy inn, milling about merrily throughout the establishment. The innkeeper Barry chuckled in response. He had a deep, hearty laugh that rumbled from beneath his short, red beard. He leaned against the other side of the bar, sharing a drink with the other man. “I’m glad you’re happy about the lack of...

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“I Remembered the Light” by Robin Feaster

Submitted to Contest #129

On the slopes was a young man and young woman, skiing together. Daniel, under his helmet and mask, had short brown hair and bright blue eyes. He would have liked to think he was striking, but really he was just an ordinary sort of handsome. With him was Darla, who had come along as his ski buddy. They’d also come with a friend, Alice, but she was actually afraid of skiing and admitted she had just come along for moral support. The three had laughed about it, but it did leave her alone in the lodge waiting for them to be done. “What’s going o...

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“Bodies Down the Gorge” by Nick Cevennes

Submitted to Contest #129

Out of the darkness a man with a belt walked slowly toward another dark corner. The man's steps were heavy and sluggish. His vision was blurred, his eyes clouded with blood and tears. He knew he shouldn't have done it, as the blood left marks of regret through the dust on the attic floor. He leaned into the gloom as if he were the one to be feared. Soon there was a piercing howl, as continual as if someone had been rubbing his arteries with a dull knife. The crying went on for nearly two hours, until it finally stopped. A desultory sob repla...

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“SNOW ANGEL” by Jean Healey

Submitted to Contest #129

SNOW ANGEL Jean. B. Healey 16/01/2021 No movement. No breath. Why was she so still? Only yesterday we were snuggling up ...

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“Tears by the Hearth” by Allya Nosmada

Submitted to Contest #129

The howling winds sieged the windows and doors of the wooden chalet, but none of the men inside paid the elements any mind. They gathered by the roaring flames of the stone hearth, tending to a wounded man stretched out on a cot. At frequent intervals, one of the members of the party would depart from the group to fetch one thing or another and bring it back to the group. Besides the men’s hushed whispers, the cavernous room held a solemn silence. Only the cracking of the fire kept conversation with howling wind as if saying, ‘not now.’At mi...

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“THE OLD MAN AND THE CHALET” by Roland Darroll

Submitted to Contest #129

THE OLD MAN AND THE CHALET [Note: Two sounds predominate in this story: the crackling of the fire inside the house and the howling of the wind outside the house. They also predominated during the writing of the story: the fire at Relaxing Fireplace Sounds - Burning Fireplace & Crackling Fire Sounds (NO MUSIC) - Bing video; and the wind at Whining Wind Sound Effects | Soundsnap. The reader might find the reading of the story enhanced by doing the same.] The chalet stood in a small clearing, dwarfed by tall pines. It was...

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“Dedicated To My Backstabber (With Love)” by Ambassador Rose

Submitted to Contest #129

It was a middle-aged chalet, set in the Blue Ridge Mountains; we were a superannuated couple, her and I, set in our ways; and the unusually harsh northern wind was set on excoriating anyone who planned to have a good time outside. We often stayed in… but today was different. Very different. I held a steamy mug of coffee prisoner between my palms and let my gaze run free outside of the frosted windowpanes. There was no reason to expect anyone to show up today; the roads were choked with fluffy dry snow. A layer of ice played the support...

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“Lock and key” by Michael Ross

Submitted to Contest #129

Lock and key Two hundred yards below the summit of the mountain, a group of men labor awkwardly against the elements. A bitter south-easterly wind whips clouds of biting white powder that hamper their every movement. As they go about their task, for each one, every footstep feels like a mile and every intake of breath is a thunderous gasp. They know each other well and work as a team; vocal communication is impossible, well practiced hand movements and sweeping arm gestures informs the others. They know how this operation will end, and hate ...

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“A Dubious Stranger” by Angie Sherwood

Submitted to Contest #129

My heart pounded. Beads of perspiration formed along my hairline. “He’s right behind you. Run!” I shouted.Oh, this is ridiculous, I told myself as I threw my e-reader onto the couch beside me. This was why I hated crime novels. I hated being scared. How could anyone enjoy it? I was only reading this book for work. Tomorrow, I was covering a lecture by Alistair Sterling, my current novel’s author, about banned books, particularly, the book I was reading, which was prohibited from many school and county libraries. No wonder. Who wanted to read...

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“The Chalet” by Melissa Woods

Submitted to Contest #129

The warm summer rain tried to melt the winter snow, while the latter fought back. The result was a perpetual ice sheet, several inches thick, that jutted from the walled gap between the two front doors. On one side all was green and warm golden; on the other, all was a frozen, silver-white sparkle. Analise had noticed a similar ice sheet, occasionally, between the windows on the two upper floors; but that was more rare, due to the pitch and depth of the wooden gable above them. Analise stood before the ground-level sheet and studied it, as ...

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“One Last Run” by Wilma Segeren

Submitted to Contest #129

Remis gazed past chalet windows, up the hill to where several hot shots were out doing extreme flips on the half pipe. He was just as crazy as those kids and loved to challenge his abilities and style, not so much for the audience, which seem to always appear after a while, but more for the few like him, who also lived to develop new and different maneuvers. The sheer joy of trying or perfecting a difficult jump, flip, or aerial challenge, was what Remis lived for. The swirl of steam escaped from...

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“A Skiing Situation” by Marie Richmond

Submitted to Contest #129

As Marc Edwards entered Black Piste 62 on the Swiss Matterhorn he thought about how lucky he was on this trip of a lifetime and a business trip no less. The financial guys at corporate must be crazy, not one of them wanted to fly across the pond so he was the pioneer. He took in the hundred and eighty degree panoramic view. Could life be any better? He indulged in the snow covered peaks before him like fluffy meringue cast against a cloudless sky. It was a pity to waste all of this gloriousness on himself. He wished the love of his life, his...

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“Dear diary, I'm stuck” by Lisa S. W.

Submitted to Contest #129

17/01/2022 Hello, my dearest of all diaries, (that’s how I’m supposed to start this, right?) God… anyways, nobody’s ever going to read this, I guess, so it doesn’t really matter. Well, if, by any chance, someone’s reading this, and be it only future me trying to bathe in teenage, no, young adult memories, hi, I hope you’re doing well. I, meanwhile, am stuck, stuck with nothing to do except stare out a window just to see a wall of snow blocking my view and, which of course is more unfortunate, the only door leading out of this trap. I guess t...

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$250

Prize money

182

Contest entries

92

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Jan 21, 2022 EST

Won by Erica Vogel 🏆

Title: At the Whitemare

Submissions must be between 1,000 - 3,000 words and will be approved and published on Reedsy Prompts within 7 days of the contest closing.

Read the full terms & conditions or check out the FAQ if you have any questions!

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