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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

“Double Black Diamond” by Ernie Olson

Submitted to Contest #129

Snapping his goggles into place, Maurice exclaims, “What a beautiful day!”Sean’s smile flashes as he too slips off the bench. “I’ve been waiting for a bluebird like this all season.”Having secured an early seat on the lift with his three companions, and now clearing the off ramp at the top, Paul cheerfully asks the group, “So, we’re all doing ‘The View Points’?”Gary hesitates as the other two nod and smile. “I’m not in the mood for something so tame. Is anyone interested in going down ‘Mind Games’ with me?”All three spin on the tips of their...

6 comments 6
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“Chex Mix and Rentals” by MichElle Colpo

Submitted to Contest #129

Hannah and George Bordain—despite looking the same—could not have been more different. They shared bright red hair, freckles, almond shaped dark brown eyes, and a pointed chin that dimples when smiling.            “Are you twins?!”            That was a question they’d get asked frequently.            “No,” Hannah would reply pointedly to the woman in the grocery store, the man...

2 comments 2
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“Just Like Mom” by Kelsey Pacheco

Submitted to Contest #129

“This is why we don’t go to ski resorts in December, David!” “I don’t have control over the weather, okay. Stop blaming me for every inconvenience that comes your way,” Clarise pouts, her damp hair gathering a smell underneath her grey woven beanie, “I told you, I told you so many times,” “It isn’t my fault we’re stuck in here!” David yells, frustration mixed in every word. David’s promise of being romantically secluded with Clarise during their one-year anniversary wasn’t really going to plan, but nothing really goes to plan when you visit ...

4 comments 4
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“Snowed in to Mend...” by Olivia Jackson

Submitted to Contest #129

She would leave. It was the best possible solution to their problems. Who was she kidding? A romantic getaway with a man who had given up months ago couldn't...wouldn't fix their problems. So she made up her mind. At first light she would leave their beautiful chalet and their relationship forever. She sat in the great window of their cabin and watched the sun come up over the silver-tipped mountains. It was amazing how long the sluggish sun took to make its drowsy appearance when the importance of one's fate was at hand. She had nev...

6 comments 6
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“Meet My Yeti” by Chris Campbell

Submitted to Contest #129

“HANS! You’re back last… again!”It was ski season in the Swiss Alps and the German party of friends from Düsseldorf had been enjoying a week of the season’s best powder, providing lots of off-piste daring jumps, virgin snow, and the highlight of the week; The Inferno, an annual downhill race, attracting over one thousand ‘Franz Klammer’ wannabes.“Last one to return buys drinks all night,” gloated Valentin Kessler, a tall, handsome young man with curly blonde hair, sprouting a bruising discolouration above his right cheek.“Not so quick, Valen...

6 comments 6
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“Grandpop's Stutter” by Louise Muller

Submitted to Contest #129

“There’s s-s-something in them w-w-woods,” Grandpop whispered with the usual quiver in his voice. His eyebrows were untamed and gray. His lips trembled as they always did when he spoke about the woods. He had stuttered for as long as I could remember. My sister and I asked him about it once. “The c-c-creature in the w-w-woods took my s-s-speech,” he answered with solemn eyes,” along with your M-m-mama and G-g-grandma. No m-m-man can recover f-f-from an encounter like that.” We never knew a time before Grandpop’s stutter, a time with Grandma ...

3 comments 3
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“Off-Piste” by Nicole Farmer

Submitted to Contest #129

OFF-PISTE By N. D. Farmer Edward Draven slid to a stop halfway down the slope. The mountain laid out a natural obstacle course ahead of him, offering a line of trees, shrubbery, and bends challenging experienced skiers. Below the mountain lay more rolling white hills and tucked away private cabins dotting the Blue Ridge landscape. Edward wasn’t sure if his nerves or the multiple layers of clothing he wore caused him to feel a bit too warm. Sweat pressed his t-shirt close to his skin and made the back of his sweater damp. The chilled wind...

2 comments 2
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“My Name Is Jan Weaver” by Kelsey Hunt

Submitted to Contest #129

"My name is Jan Weaver," I tell the investigator for the millionth time. He does not believe me. He keeps asking things like "What happened to Jan?” and “When was the last time you saw Jan Weaver?” I keep telling him I AM Jan Weaver. But he still doesn’t believe me. Now they are calling me a suspect. Of what? I just want to help find the missing girl. They won’t let me go, and they keep asking what happened to Jan Weaver – me.         It was always my life dream to run an Inn, or a small hotel, or...

2 comments 2
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“You Can Checkout Anytime You Like... But You Can Never Leave” by Michael Danyluk

Submitted to Contest #129

The inn gets pretty quiet this time of year. The snowy seasons' just about done, then it’s real quiet; completely dead. We're only one stage away from dead. When it's dead, there's nothing for me to do. I used to spend time with the wife, or at least that's how it has been the past 2 years. She left me, left me with this inn with all this shit to run; said she wanted a “better life,”. I don't blame her: this inn is a nightmare. When you settle down, you never know how it's going to end up. Two years ago, I inherited this fucking place f...

2 comments 2
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“Recompense” by S. Closson

Submitted to Contest #129

Connor’s face twisted in confusion as he looked up at the odd woman lingering in front of the check-in counter. The burly fellow had met his fair share of characters since inheriting ownership of Guppy’s Peak Inn, but this lady took the cake by a country mile.  “I’m sorry, miss...”  “Maude,” the woman said, her name hanging in the air like a frosty breath.  “Miss Maude, perhaps I misheard you. Your clients want to do what now?” Connor asked, a bemused frown forming under the tufts of his beard as he looked up at...

5 comments 5
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“Skadi's Skrying” by Minerva Noiropp

Submitted to Contest #129

The temperature plummeted. Windows frosted. Lights flickered. Skadi uncurled from before the crackling fireplace. A feat of engineering, it was a verticle hotplate, operated by a thermostat near the door. With smart technology, she could conjure any digital image with the tap of a button on the remote. If she could remember where the remote was. Moving with swiftness through the tiny chalet, she approached the thermostat. Nestled between the door and the master lights, she tapped it up several degrees. Moving to the window, she pulled the he...

0 comments 0
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“Cold days, dark nights” by Shauna Fields

Submitted to Contest #129

The firelight in the fireplace danced as the snow swirled outside, but Regina couldn’t enjoy it. She had been inside tidying and preparing food alone in the inn for what felt like an eternity. The snow had been falling – gentle but steady – for days. Still, the fear of being snowed in had scared off many of her customers. The night came early here and hers was the last overnight stop before reaching the summit.Had it been hours, days, weeks? It was hard to say with every day exactly the same. All she knew for sure was that she missed th...

1 comment 1
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“Live and Let Ride” by Barbara Romines

Submitted to Contest #129

Live and Let Ride   During the 1984-85 Ski Season, Breckenridge Ski Resort in Colorado was the first major ski area to open the mountain to snowboarders. Snowboarders had been trying to get access to the mountain resorts for years, and after a few resorts hosted snowboard contests the - opening of the slopes became inevitable. In 1985 snow boards were shorter, slimmer, pointed and made of wood and thought to be potential weapons of destruction in the traditional skiing world.   Many skiers worried about the sa...

0 comments 0
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“The Vacation Before The End” by Marcia H.

Submitted to Contest #129

Rosa stood with her back straight and eyes forward behind the old brown wooden desk at the inn she owned and ran.  She kept her eyes glued to the glass doors at the entrance. Her small frame wouldn’t move until she saw her much anticipated guest. Rosa had been waiting for this moment all year long. Her best friend, Elosie would come once a year to visit her. They would laugh, sip coffee by the fireplace, and eat good home cooked meals that Rosa would prepare in the inn’s kitchen after the staff was dismissed for the day. They would gigg...

0 comments 0
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“Those From The Outside” by Philip Ebuluofor

Submitted to Contest #129

What you are reading begun in middle class quarters of Guangzhou city in southern China. If you regards that city as a place for people that came with money heart, you’re right. I happened to know this because I am one of those people. Those that came with another reasons don’t enjoy that city like us. Guangzhou is for buying and selling people mainly not for salaried people. People there don’t wear coats like others from other cities, coat is not for hustlers. As am sure you have guessed well, where there’s buying and selling in that...

1 comment 1
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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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