THE FALL LINE: Chapter Six

Thank you for following The Fall Line. Every week we get a little closer to the edge, and I’m so grateful to share this story with you.

Chapter 6 is now live for paid subscribers. The air inside the van is warm. The windows are fogged. And sometimes, the thing you’ve been avoiding is the only thing left.

If you’re just joining the story, Chapter 1 is still free to read. If you’ve been here from the beginning—thank you. You already know what happens when the snowpack gets too heavy.

Chapter Six: The Slot

They decided to ski the Slot the next morning.

It wasn’t planned, exactly. Just something they both said at the same time—bad coffee in hand, boots half-buckled. The qualifier was a few days out. Might as well see the line before it counted.

Cole looked like hell.

His eyes were bloodshot. His hair stuck up like he’d slept in a helmet. He barely got his bib over his shoulders before stumbling outside to dry-heave behind the van.

“You okay?” Jamie asked, trying not to smile.

Cole stood, wiped his mouth with the back of his glove. “Breakfast burrito didn’t agree with me.”

“You mean the one you ate sideways while opening a beer?”

Cole flipped him off, grabbed his skis, and didn’t answer.