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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

“A Miracle on the Mountain” by Alice Stannard

Submitted to Contest #129

Frigid air from the cloud-covered peaks whispered down the Rocky Mountains, swirling around tree trunks like the ice-cold eddies circling river stones. Majestic Blue Spruce crowded the mountain face as they branched out from their sparsity near the tree line. The Respite Inn sat nestled in a cove, guarded by 90-foot Douglas Firs. In a world of her own, shrouded in the quiet beauty, Emma was content.           Emma sat by the fireplace, stilled by the silence at the end of the day. She in...

8 comments 8
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“Solara's Compromise” by Raina Meginley

Submitted to Contest #129

Solara’s hands trembled not from the cold swirling around her, but from the icy stare, a strange man struck her with.“Solara, don’t be rude.”Her hands tightened around the washcloth and she returned to wiping the counter, hearing Trevan’s voice drift from somewhere behind her. Averting her gaze, she focused on wiping the residual drink condensation from the bar, gathering used napkins and dishes along the way before continuing into the dining area. At the last stand-alone table, Solara shivered at the chilly presence from earlier, knowing th...

1 comment 1
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“Snow and the old oak tree ” by Professor Alan Dale Dickinson

Submitted to Contest #129

SNOW AND THE OLD OAK TREE The tree was one hundred and fifty [150] years old, she was grandiose, and she was solid Oak. This grand beauty was quite tall, over three hundred feet into the royal blue skyline of the southern county forest. Also, she was very sturdy and quite lovely to look up at. She was located in lovely Laguna Woods Village, in the Orange County California’s creek bed. Laguna Woods Village, has several majestic and beautiful grand oaks sprawled in its 2,000 acres of property limits.       &nb...

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“Character crashing in to something while skiing ” by Lucky Pandhare

Submitted to Contest #129

It was 23 December 2019. She went to meet her boyfriend. She flew 11626 km from Amritsar to Canada .Amritsar is the most beautiful place in North India. Amritsar is the city which is filled from lot of natural beauties .Her story begin with the one truth and truth was poison. Her father is retired military officer.Father worked bit far from home when she was a child . Father came to house after every two , three months .Her mother is retired school principal . She became big girl with very innocent parents and highly beautiful village .Just ...

0 comments 0
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“Edraculatte Flexes Down An Avalanche” by Joshua Scott Hotchkin Wordpress.dungherder.com

Submitted to Contest #129

Crystals of ice form on the hairs in his nose, which is an incredibly peculiar sensation. He feels as though he has just done a line of Ice 9 up each nostril; a feeling which takes his attention away from the fact that he is skiing down the side of a large mountain and is about to collide with a large, hairy humanoid. "What the fugk, bro?" the large, hairy humanoid manages to eek out before he is knocked ass akimbo by the thoughtless skier. Neither of the bipeds are hurt, but the hairless one on skis takes a bit longer to recover. When h...

6 comments 6
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“SKI PATH TO JUSTICE” by Darrell Grant

Submitted to Contest #129

                                           SKI PATH TO JUSTICE           Nick was never a good student but right now that didn’t matter, because everybody that ever went to school or watched TV knew that if you ever got caught outside in the freezing cold, the situation you wo...

4 comments 4
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“Journal Entry #1 ” by Hannah Foust

Submitted to Contest #129

        The Sequoias, Year 1950            Henry Scott Mountain top closed off due to avalanche caused by heavy snow, no way up or down, low on food, only planned for a weekend, no idea how long we will be stuck, friends all despairing, trying to decide who’ll we’ll have to eat first, I voted for the one who weighs the most.Entry 1. We are optimistic, that we will be able to blaze our way back to civilization, some think we need to ration...

3 comments 3
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“The Eye-drops” by B. M. Kaud

Submitted to Contest #129

I planned on leaving the first thing in the morning. The whole situation, it felt like I was inside of one those melodramas that fill the afternoon slot in the television. I had never been in a situation like this, so degrading that left me doubting my ability to think and act as an adult being. I now look out the window, heavy snow has been falling all night and now it spawns through the morning. I dread the time Lisa will came down and we will have to play the civilized game until one of us is able to leave this chalet. For now, there is ...

2 comments 2
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“A Real Corradini” by Janet Change Balda

Submitted to Contest #129

Joseph squeezed his eyes shut as the helicopter lifted off the ground. His stomach lurched behind the seatbelt, and he was grateful for the big headset that blocked out most of the sound. He felt a hand on his knee and opened his eyes to look into his wife’s face. Vanessa, so beautiful. Too beautiful, certainly for him. He smiled weakly to reassure her, and she nodded in approval. Determined not to see how far below the ground outside was, Joseph focused instead on the other passengers. On Vanessa’s other side sat her mother, Alexandrine, ...

2 comments 2
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“House of Altars” by David Lontok

Submitted to Contest #129

Noah fought to find refuge, dragging his ski boots through the snow. Winds kept throwing punches ever since rapid snow filled the evening sky. Doomed to walk the distance, Noah kept holding on to one ski as if it had life to spare; the other one stayed broken, sticking out like a thorn from his backpack. His eyes, holding on to a shard of visibility, never strayed from an image on the snow—a tall, wide rest house tucked between trees. It looked abandoned, for there were no lights. After enduring his ice-cold penitence, he busted through the...

1 comment 1
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“Black Diamond” by Caroline Smith

Submitted to Contest #129

They hadn’t been in the same room together in five years, after the wedding. That reunion had ended with a glass of bourbon leaving its permanent mark on the white dress, and they had all come to an unspoken agreement not to meet after that. But a group will always have factions, much as a broken chain still was once made of links. They were no longer a collective unit, but some bonds lingered, suspended in time and unbothered by circumstance. It was Drew’s idea. His uncle had passed away a week before Christmas and bequeathed his house ...

6 comments 6
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“Falling Upwards” by Scoop Rittersblock

Submitted to Contest #129

 We are somewhere behind them, our vantage point two hundred meters above and to their right. We are hiding within a small grove of fir trees with tired branches all droopy with their burdens of snow. The Instructor has his back to a sheer cliff face and is quietly talking to about five others, his arms gesturing this way and that, with around a thousand metres of bounce and screaming plummet below them. We had come up the mountain to check out reports of strange activity by a group of extreme sports enthusiasts and hadn’t expected to h...

6 comments 6
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“Grendel's Nest Chalet ” by George Georgerfrost@gmail.com

Submitted to Contest #129

Grendel's Nest Chalet is an exclusive resort in the Bavarian Alps that is talked about in certain circles, but has never advertised in any of the travel journals and there is a reason for that. Named for the monster in Beowulf, there have been rumors about what is up there in the Bavarian Alps, so being a resourceful correspondent, I decided to have a look for myself.  What you are about to read is my account of that eventful weekend at Grendel's Nest Chalet.  “Welcome Herr Walter Shannon.” The concierge greeted me at the check ...

3 comments 3
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“Bennbrig” by Charlene 🧙‍♀️✨ Boyce

Submitted to Contest #129

The Wolf’s Buckle Inn was not a luxurious resort, but it was successful. It was small, no more than 10 rooms. They were always full. Not with the rich rock climbing socialite crowd, with their platinum plated carabiners and four thousand dollar techno fabric fashion jackets, nor with the skiing crowd - there were no ski facilities. This inn was a haven for those who loved the land.  The man who had trekked the full Appalachian trail three times to raise funds for Virginia coal miners. The woman who had stayed at a base camp on Mt Wash...

3 comments 3
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“Dragons Breath Inn” by Richard Hann

Submitted to Contest #129

Snow bellowed through the cog shaped doorway, pushing itself around the outline of a short, stocky person, holding an axe over their shoulder, and clasping a satchel made from the fur of a Snow Strider in his other hand. The snow melted, then evaporated before it managed to find its way to the floor, this was usual for the dragon’s breath Inn, the rear wall of the inn was built into the side of a volcano after all. Keeping their patrons warm wasn’t a problem, the problem was trying to keep it cool enough to stop them from burning to a crisp....

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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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Prompts | Big Blue Hand | 2024-11

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