Prologue
Crash Line
Playlist:
Guano Apes: The Lord of the Boards
Frank Sinatra: Witchcraft
Hintertux, Austria, September 17, 2025
Katharina
I breathe in the thin mountain air, lean on my ski poles, and look up the hill.
And there he is.
He carves above me on the slope, body bent at an impossible angle, right hand nearly brushing the snow.He seems to defy physics, carving a line so elegant it looks effortless, calm, precise, in full control.
When he turns, I pick my moment.I bounce forward, cutting across his line.Not completely—I'm not suicidal—just enough to feel the thrill.
I'll call it clumsiness later.
My estimate was correct: he's faster.As our paths cross, we miss each other by an inch.Just an inch, but it's enough.The near miss knocks us both off balance.I don't bother trying to catch myself; the whole stunt would've been pointless if I did.
My right ski flies off.I glide and glide, helpless and weightless, until I come to a stop in a soft pile of snow.Fresh snow needles into my collar and sleeves, a sharp reminder of what I just did.
"Hey!You okay?"he calls up the slope."You came close.Almost like you were aiming for me."
I raise a gloved hand, snow slipping down my wrist, to signal I'm fine, then wipe my goggles and squint down the slope.He's not even covered in snow; clearly, he stayed upright.And, I notice, he managed to grab my runaway ski.What a gentleman.
"Yes, thank you!"I call back, trying to get up.I'll probably have a decent bruise on my hip tomorrow.
He unbuckles his skis and starts walking toward me.
There's something in his stride, easy, confident, maybe even a little cocky, that makes me acutely aware of how disheveled I must look.I hate that it matters.And yet, it does.
"I'm so sorry."I flash an apologetic smile, aware that charm is hard to muster with crooked goggles and snow on my face, and the fact that I just nearly killed him.
"Well… you're supposed to look uphill before taking off."His smile undercuts the scolding, more amused than annoyed."But then again, if you planned to crash into someone, you picked the right guy."
"I was mesmerized by your run," I offer."And anyway, you're a master at dodging obstacles at much higher speeds.I figured you'd make it."
He laughs."The obstacles I avoid during a race usually don't move in unpredictable ways."
Then he looks at me more seriously."Are you sure you're alright?"
"Just a bit shaken," I nod and step into the ski he's already placed in the snow for me.
"Do you need help?"he asks.
