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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

“Missing Mountain” by Benny Regalbuto

Submitted to Contest #129

Kenton,Hey, man. I know this is a little strange since I still have your number, but… I wanted to send you a handwritten letter. I don’t expect us to become pen pals or anything, but I promise there’s a point to this, so just bear with me for a bit here. Or, y’know, don’t. You’re a big boy now; you make your own decisions.Anyway. Rewind to high school ski club. I joined for two reasons: because you were doing it, and because Jamie Tipton was doing it. What better justification could there’ve been?No matter my reasons, waking up at 2am to cat...

6 comments 6
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“All's Fair in Love and Spar” by Zack Powell

Submitted to Contest #129

Glenn, our marriage counselor, self-proclaimed relationship expert, repeated herself: "I said, have you two ever considered boxing?" Tim and I exchanged glances. We were both thinking she'd lost her mind. It was the first thing we'd agreed on all day. "No, I can't say that I have," Tim said, emphasizing the second I. He turned back to Glenn and added, "But I can only speak for myself, right?" I shook my head no, both in response to Glenn's question and Tim's passive-aggressiveness. Glenn tapped her pen on her clipboard, uncrossed her...

4 comments 4
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“Piste of Passion” by Greg Gillis

Submitted to Contest #129

           The sun glistened off the powdered snow-covered mountainside as Darren and his friends exited their vehicle at the ski resort. Hundreds of people made their way from cars or from the chalet with one purpose in mind; to take on the snow-covered giant before them.            Darren and his best friend, Shane, decided to grab a hot cup of coffee before hitting the slopes. Jack, their other sidekick, headed straight for the li...

4 comments 4
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“It started with a crash” by Nikolle Mack

Submitted to Contest #129

A thump, twin shouts of surprise, and the sight of a lone ski continuing on after it had escaped its owner. It all culminated in Amy laying on her back in the snow, staring up at a blue sky. After a moment, her vision was blocked by the helmet of the other skier she’d run into. “You alright there, hun?” Amy lifted one hand in a thumbs up, “right as rain. You?” The other woman let out a snort, “a sight better than you I think. Let’s get you out of the snow before you become an ice cube.” Amy let herself be pulled upright and steadied as...

5 comments 5
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“The saddest part about the day I met your mother” by Jonathan Tam

Submitted to Contest #129

The saddest part about the day I met your mother was that it was also the day her husband died.I still remember that morning. Rainier was as calm and as clear as you could have asked for. A single layer of stratus clouds grazed the rocky peak and you could see every detail of the summit from the doors of the inn. At the base of the mountain, the last bits of white had left the fields to a vibrant green and a clearing along the dirt path rode all the way to the foothills.All signs pointed to a good day for a climb. But the problem with going ...

3 comments 3
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“Happy Birthday, Sandhya!” by Harsh Sharma

Submitted to Contest #129

In a handsome chalet, whelmed by dense snow of January, and miles away from the chaos of the metro city, Sandhya laid on her bed with an incessant gaze at the ceiling. She blinked after a long, and her puffed eyes reached the windowpane. White streaks of snow resembling cotton units, stuck on it, and the sky continued showering more and more of them.Sandhya mustered all the calcium in her bones to rise from the mattress, on which her husband Chirag was snoring. Her world whirled like a merry-go-round when her feet kissed the wooden floor. Sh...

4 comments 4
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“The Accident.” by Alaska Maxwell

Submitted to Contest #129

I let out a small gasp. I choked on the cold, unfamiliar air. I immediately shivered, my teeth clenching and my body shaking. I opened my eyes quickly and observed my surroundings. I squinted but all I could see were blurry blobs of blue. Then I tried blinking a few times and my vision finally cleared. I was obviously looking at the sky and I noticed I was lying on my back in icy snow. It appeared to be dawn and I need to get somewhere safe before night arrived. I was disoriented and confused.  Where was I? My head throbbed with excruc...

3 comments 3
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“Silvia” by Barbara Burgess

Submitted to Contest #129

Silvia stood at the bottom of the mountain and gazed up at the enormity of it all. The day, the holiday, the task ahead.Why couldn’t she be on the beach in Andalucia? She felt a sob rising from deep within her stomach, as the nerves set in. Silvia felt guilty as she looked at her husband and three children, all smiling. Gazing lovingly at the mountain, imagining the thrill of riding down it at full speed. Why couldn’t she feel the excitement, too?Silvia had only had two lessons on a dry ski slope—they were experts. She’d enjoy it, they said....

6 comments 6
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“Sweet Slopes” by Brenda Butler

Submitted to Contest #129

He didn’t see it and because he didn’t, he crashed into it. He didn’t feel he had hit it that hard but apparently, he hit it hard enough to cause a trip to the ER with a concussion and two days in the hospital. When he woke up, he could only remember small bits and pieces of the entire trip. Charlie Juste and his two buddies Rich and Phil had come down to take on the slopes of Colorado. Phil was an expert sort to speak but the other two were newbies. Charlie and Rich had joined the gym to begin muscling up for the trip almost a year early. T...

0 comments 0
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“The Color of Winter Sky” by VJ Hamilton

Submitted to Contest #129

In the wincing bright light of a winter morning, Amir glided up the ski lift for the third time to the top of Jackrabbit Hill. All clear below, except for a stand of trees off to one side and one gray-green rock off to the other. Amir stepped off the lift, his skis crunching the snow with a voracious appetite. Ski vacay, hooray! He squeezed his knees and lifted his poles. A rabbit bolted from the trees, at first barely visible with its white on white, but startling him enough to begin sliding before he was truly ready. The gray-green rock wa...

2 comments 2
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“Accidental” by Cardaisha Johnson

Submitted to Contest #129

Amy wanted to go on this skiing trip. She really did. So why? Why was she cursed with bad luck? “Amy?” Sandy asked, slowing to a stop in front of the downed black girl, her pink hat askew and lost somewhere beside her. “Y’all alright?” Right. . .she hadn’t moved yet. Mostly because she plowed directly into her crush coming down the mountain. Brian. He had smooth dark skin and a megawatt smile that made Amy’s heart do somersaults and currently. . .currently she was on top of him in a post haste attempt to stop herself from getting injured...

2 comments 2
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“The Mountains Are Calling” by Jamie Gregory

Submitted to Contest #129

[CW: Death] Harold trudged down the winding path that led to the inn from his cabin tucked in the woods. Rays from the late-winter sunrise filtered through the trees arousing the birds who had returned from the south recently and they greeted him with a serenade.   Harold was a middle-aged man with a grizzly beard and the build of a lumberjack. He’d been running the Climber’s Haven Inn on the outskirts of Denali National Park for ten years after inheriting it from his father, making him the third generation of innkeepers in the...

9 comments 9
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“LOST” by Jill Campbell

Submitted to Contest #129

  In rough weather a skier is completely clandestine. Not an inch of an identifiable feature is exposed. A hat or helmet covers the hair, dark goggles hide the eyes, while a balaclava conceals the entire rest of the face. No skin reveals the possibility of even discerning the build or ethnicity of the inhabitant under the thick layer of garb. That’s me today feeling like a 1960 astronaut hardly able to bend elbows or knees with the heavy layers of winter ware protecting vulnerable skin. That along with cement ski boots.  &nbsp...

3 comments 3
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“The Unexpected Guest” by Dhruv Srivastava

Submitted to Contest #129

For most of the year, Lydia Coulter was able to enjoy living amidst the tall cedar pines of Vermont rent-free, watching nature pass her by. Every day she got up around dawn to the smell of fresh-brewed coffee - her alarm clock actually made drip coffee for her which was hot and ready right when she got up. She’d head down to the kitchen and fix herself a modest breakfast, likely consisting of oatmeal, and then take care of each of the bedrooms in the lodge. Once things were clean, she would head outside if the weather was nice and roam one o...

11 comments 11
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“Mr. Cuddles” by Okashi Kashi

Submitted to Contest #129

The Spin Cycle.The most famous slope in the Crystal alps. Five miles of mountain range with an array of violent turns that gave the slope its name. For an experienced skier, it wasn’t particularly dangerous, but it was difficult. Relaxing for even a second would send you flying into the snow.Dario was plenty experienced, having done the circuit many times. He often came to the alps on the weekends, hoping to relive the adrenaline rush of his first run. This particular Saturday evening, his mother volunteered to drive him out. His six-year-ol...

13 comments 13
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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!

Prompts | Big Blue Hand | 2024-11

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