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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

“The Stranger” by Kaitlyn Modz

Submitted to Contest #129

Icicles hung from the eaves of the chalet's sturdy roof like teeth in the maw of a snow-laden beast. The wind screamed banshee-like against the log and stone walls, hurling snow against the wood at an alarming speed. The whole building had the feeling of leaning in on itself, as though trying to hunker down against the onslaught of the blizzard. Indeed, this chalet had seen its fair share of storms--and so too had its keeper. Jasmine Skau was young, too young to be holed up alone, year after year, in her little pocket of heat and light thr...

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“The Fire Below” by Scott Christenson

Submitted to Contest #129

Renji sat on the terrace of the Kazan-Kan lodge, which was in a small clearing on the highest ledge of Mount Asama volcano that was still considered safe. Traces of snow which survived the afternoon clung on in the grass out front. At ease, he breathed deep and smelled the pines of the forest that sloped down to the far away towns visible in the valley below.It’s a four hour walk up from the nearest road and very peaceful this time of year. Few people were around, just the way he liked it.“The Kamoshika are sure to come today to look ar...

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“The Lone Skier” by Karen Pater

Submitted to Contest #129

The lone skier paused for a moment and only a moment, at the crest of the mountain as the snow began to fall. The mountain was nestled at the foothills of a larger mountain chain, about an hour from the city. The skier breathed in the crisp mountain air, relishing his surroundings, so happy to escape the bustle of the big city. This would be his final run of the day. The lifts carried few people up the mountain this time of night, and he hadn't seen anybody on the slopes in the past hour. He peered to the left, longingly glancing at the...

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“The Last Chance” by Cliff Mansfield

Submitted to Contest #129

Sunrise exploded with blood-red slashes across the frozen horizon. Jeff hit the rise and caught air, landing with a jolt that nearly tore his helmet off. Gaining speed, he leaned into a right-hand downhill turn and threw a rooster tail into the berm of the narrow trail. His jaw hurt and he realized he was grinding his teeth. He dropped his head for a second and inhaled. Jeff squeezed the remote button on his ski pole and said, “Sammy, you copy?” Carrying speed from the short downhill, he leaned left and popped up over a rise and into a b...

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“Me Time” by Christine Madonna

Submitted to Contest #129

It is January 1, 2022.I decided to get away for some me time.My husband has been driving me crazy. We have 2 dogs, 13 chickens, a rooster, a peacock, a turkey, two ducks, two african greys, and an amazon parrot. My sister came to visit christmas eve and brought along her two puppies. Her boyfriend Marc talked her into giving me one of them. So I decided to go to maine.I decided to go to sugarloaf. I took a bus to Maine. Then I took a cab to the resort. It has a 4,237 foot summit. The ski village has winter gear stores, descent restaurants, a...

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“Knight In Shining Skis” by Autumn-Rose Oberhammer

Submitted to Contest #129

Everywhere I looked, there was snow. A minute ago, I had the warm sun on me, defrosting my frozen limbs. I was going down the slope way too fast; sweat poured down my face, pooling in my neck warmer. Breathe! The voice in my head screamed at me. I tried to move my body, but I felt like a freezer-burnt popsicle stuck to an icy surface. When things couldn’t get any worse, my ski poles flew from my hands. I waved my arms in the air trying to keep my balance, but I couldn’t. I fell, hard, landing on my stomach. I started to roll, turning into a ...

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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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“White Lie” by Neil Deuchar

Submitted to Contest #129

Firstly, there’s a ski on top of your snowboard. The queue scrapes and slithers forward but you can’t move because someone’s ski is slap bang across your board. Left foot strapped into the front binding, right foot planted on the slush beside the board, you look up and ahead and see chairs coming round and scooping up twos and threes from the front of the queue. Then you look down and trace the ski to its owner. He’s prodding his poles into the snow to push himself forward. You smell Ambre Solaire and garlic. “Excusez-moi?” you say in your p...

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“Lost and Found ” by Thomas M.P. Linsenmeyer

Submitted to Contest #129

The snow squalls and strong winds had given way to a cold yet absolutely perfect mid January afternoon. Rebecca thought she'd get in one more run before she collapsed into the bar in the lodge at the base of Snowshoe Ridge.It had been a furiously busy winter with the kids,Covid,her new job, and her pending divorce. This was the first opportunity to get away with friends, some of whom were going through all the same things, but all of them were going through some of them. What was real was that she felt every bit of her forty two years and th...

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“Don't go into the forest” by Alyssa Tsang

Submitted to Contest #129

Disclaimer: Not based on real events during WW2, any similarity to real events or history is unintentional by the Author. “Don’t go into the forest!” His mother warned as he left the family home, skis wobbling over his child-sized shoulder. Kal smiled at the warm memory. His mother had been gone for quite some time now. The war rationing was not kind to a woman in her later years. He kept her memory in his mind as he prepared to disobey her. He chuckled a little, imagining her scolding a grown man in his uniform for wandering into ...

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“Stars Aligned” by H. C. Black

Submitted to Contest #129

When I left, the snow clung to my mittens like powdered sugar. It didn't matter how much I clapped my woolly hands. Snow had been falling all day, and there was no sign of slowing. That didn’t matter to me either, because these ultra-warm mittens were literally made for this kind of weather. The boots, too, were specially tailored for cross country skiing. The poles were brand new, the skis freshly waxed. I’d done my research, bought all the right stuff, and planned my route to perfection. The stars had aligned for me. So when...

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“Your Side of the Mountain” by Violet Steele

Submitted to Contest #129

Jamie shoved his hands deeper into the pockets of his jacket, the tips of his ears sticking out from under his hat. No matter how many layers he had on, he remained frozen to the core. He begrudgingly followed his father from the warm car, everything he needed for the next week crammed into the backpack he carried. Jamie’s mother had already made her way into the ski lodge, awaiting their arrival with the luggage so she could help his sister prepare further for her big day. Looking up at the busy ski slopes surrounding the lodge, at the slo...

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“reinterpreting in the snow ” by F.O. Morier

Submitted to Contest #129

You can´t put your arms around a memory. Sounds like the title of a song, doesn´t it? that´s because it is: the title of a song. It´s true, you can´t put your arms around a memory, but you can reinterpret one. I´m a desert girl by nature. That´s a fact! If I were to tell people who know me, that I once spent a whole week in an abandoned cabin in the mountains – at Christmas, they would probably start to doubt the validity of my story, or ask what I had been drinking? And yet, I did! Following the death of his wife, a good friend of mine had ...

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“Almost Snowbound in a Chalet” by John Steckley

Submitted to Contest #129

The whole family had waited with great impatience for weeks to go skiing, even the twins, who were generally stay indoors and dress up girls. The place to which they were now driving was a beautiful, big chalet. The picture of the place on the website, and its very close proximity to the ski hills had completely charmed them all. What’s more, they would have the chalet all to themselves the weekend they were going there. They could light a fire in the open-mouth of the large fireplace, and no one would complain of the smoke th...

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“She Swirled the Tea Slowly” by Farron Burnes

Submitted to Contest #129

She swirled the tea slowly.Marian leaned back into her couch, sinking into the cushions and preparing for a long night in. She twisted and turned to bundle her way in under the handmade quilt, her hands cupping the tea cup in every attempt to stay warm. Though a fire blazed, it was still confined to the small space of her wood stove. But even had it been a giant roaring fireplace, nothing could’ve stopped a chill creeping into her bones. The storm outside was simply too cold. A constant thud was heard as the windows held strong against the s...

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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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