Higher Ground – The Inaugural Appalachian Bowhunter Challenge Event
Inside the Appalachian Bowhunter Challenge at Winterplace Ski Resort — where grit, gratitude, and a whole lot of heart turned 50 strangers into something closer to family.
Location
WINTERPLACE SKI RESORT, WV
50
COMPETITORS
VIBES
HUNT CAMP, ALL WEEKEND
There’s a certain kind of weekend that sneaks up on you. You show up expecting a contest — targets, scorecards, a podium — and somewhere between the first arrow and the last campfire laugh, it becomes something else entirely. That’s exactly what happened at the inaugural Appalachian Bowhunter Challenge, held May 1st and 2nd at Winterplace Ski Resort in the mountains of West Virginia.
Fifty competitors made the trek. Some drove hours, days. Some had been counting down the weeks. A few showed up not entirely sure what to expect. What they found wasn’t just a 3D archery tournament — it was a three-part gauntlet designed to expose every weakness a bowhunter can have: endurance, accuracy, and composure under pressure. Two days of mountain air, honest effort, and the kind of easy camaraderie you usually only find around a fire with people you’ve known for years.
Three Stages. No Shortcuts.
The Appalachian Bowhunter Challenge wasn’t built around a single discipline. It was built around the whole hunter — and that meant testing the body, the eye, and the nerve, each in turn. Three stages. No shortcuts. No skipping the hard parts.
01
The 5K Weighted Pack Race
It started the way a hunt often does — with your legs. As they say, hunting is mostly walking around looking for animals. Competitors strapped on weighted packs and covered five kilometers and almost 1,000 feet elevation gain of mountain terrain. This wasn’t a warm-up. It was a statement: if you want to call yourself a bowhunter, you’d better be able to move through the country first. By the time the pack race was done, lungs were burning and legs were heavy — and the bulk of the shooting hadn’t even started yet. That’s exactly the point. You can’t be a successful hunter if you can’t get past the gravel parking lot.
02
THE 3D SHOOT
Day 2 begins. With the mountain already in their legs, competitors moved into the 3D course — a winding layout through Winterplace’s terrain that demanded everything a real shot in the field demands. Reading distance with eyes, not technology. Managing angles and time. Accounting for elevation. Staying patient when the wind shifted (and boy did we have wind) and the light wasn’t cooperating. There were arrows that found their mark cleanly and arrows that told a different story, but nobody walked the course without earning whatever score they posted. The mountain doesn’t hand out freebies.
03
The Head-to-Head Bracket
If the pack race tested the body and the 3D course tested the technical shooting ability, the head-to-head bracket tested something harder to train: composure. March Madness style, competitors were matched up one-on-one and thrown into chaos. Sandbags to carry. Sleds to drag. And then — breathing hard, muscles torched, heart rate through the roof — they had to draw back and make the shot. There’s a reason this segment became the crowd favorite. Watching someone dig deep when they have nothing left, and still put the arrow where it needs to go — that’s the whole sport in one moment. “You can’t outrun a bad shot” became the theme of the weekend, and competitors found this out quickly.
THE BRACKETS – ROUND BY ROUND
The head-to-head bracket was chaos by design. Each matchup forced competitors to carry sandbags, drag sleds, and then — legs burning, lungs empty — step up and shoot. Here’s a look at the action from the competition floor.
Head-to-Head · Camaraderie
Before the Arrow Flies
Between the intensity of matchups, this is what it actually looked like on the floor — competitors laughing, checking in with each other, giving credit where it was due. The competition was real, but so was the respect.
Head-to-Head · SLED DRAG
Dan Sauble — Pack On, Sled Behind
Weighted pack on his back, sled in tow, racing to his final shot. This was peak intensity all leading to a single arrow.
Head-to-Head · FULL DRAW
Shooting Under Pressure
After the sleds and sandbags, you still had to make the shot. Chase Deck, Brandon Stewart, and Ryan Havlicek — all pictured at full draw — showed what it means to stay locked in when the body is spent.
Head-to-Head · SANDBAG CARRY
Chris Martin — Eyes Forward
That look says everything. Pack loaded, sandbag in arms, absolutely locked in. Chris Martin’s run through the bracket was one of the weekend’s standout performances — and it showed in his Men’s 50+ division first place finish.
THE BRACKETS – ROUND BY ROUND
Events like this don’t run on ambition alone. Behind every well-placed target, every hot meal, and every smoothly run detail was a team of volunteers who gave their time without hesitation. They were out there early and stayed late. They troubleshot problems before most competitors even knew they existed. They did it because they believe in this community — full stop.
Katrina Stewart, Travis Olson, Rachel Olson, David Howell, Mike Farrah, Ryan Mancuso, Amber Kepler, Dustin Brunty, Norman Stewart — thank you. This event had your fingerprints on every corner of it, and it showed. You donated more than time, money, effort. You poured energy and positivity into this event.
The sponsors who stepped up to support the Appalachian Bowhunter Challenge deserve equal recognition. Their investment wasn’t just financial — it was a vote of confidence in what this event stands for. Because of them, competitors had a premium experience from registration to final arrow.
featured sponsors
Title Sponsor · 2026
MTN TOUGH
#1 Fitness App Trusted by the Dedicated
MTN TOUGH stepped in as one of the premier partners of the inaugural Appalachian Bowhunter Challenge and made an immediate impact on every competitor in the field.
Every athlete received a full year membership to the MTN TOUGH fitness platform — a training system trusted by serious backcountry hunters and mountain athletes across the country. This program was instrumental in the preparation of many of our competitors, to include the top finishers in each division and the overall champion. Their support wasn’t just another logo on a banner; it directly helped competitors prepare for the physical demands of this event long before the first arrow flew.
The mountain exposed weaknesses quickly. The athletes who arrived prepared knew exactly why structured mountain-focused training matters.
visit mtntough.com
50
Full-year memberships provided to every 2026 competitor
A SPECIAL THANK YOU
Winterplace Ski Resort
None of this happens without a home. Winterplace Ski Resort provided not just a venue, but a backdrop worthy of the event — mountain terrain that challenged every competitor and scenery that reminded everyone why we do this in the first place. Their hospitality, flexibility, and belief in what we were building made the Appalachian Bowhunter Challenge possible from day one. We are grateful.
The Archer’s Edge Bow Shop was a huge supporter of the 2026 event. They provided the overall champion with a brand new, 2026 flagship bow – the Mathew’s ARC! Their pro shop, know how, and proactive engagement and support of the archery community is exactly what’s needed to help grow this passion and love we all share.
Wilderness Athelete provided all of our on course hydration – which was critical! The athletes put in some serious hard work and staying hydrated was foundational to maintaining focus throughout the weekend.
KuduPoint Broadheads sponsored the event with a fresh pack of American made broadheads, sharp and ready for the toughest game out there!
Stone Glacier bino harnesses and game bags were prizes for many of the competitors! Gear they can rely on, every time.
Flying Squirrel Forge
Flying Squirrel Forge donated a beautiful handmade knife for the overall champion.
David Howell, of Tecumsah Taxidermy, donated not only a sholder mount voucher for the Overall Champion, but also was there from before the starting line to after the event ended as a volunteer.
Full Rut Outdoors powered our 3D mountain course and provided support for our event.
Warhead Arrow Co powered our 3D mountain course and provided support for our event.
Real Deal Outdoors
Real Deal Outdoor powered our 3D mountain course and provided support for our event.
Venom Productions
Venom Productions powered our 3D mountain course and provided support for our event. They also provided an arrow giveaway raffle to the competitors.
Full Draw Pursuits
Full Draw Pursuits powered our 3D mountain course and provided support for our event.
Viper Archery Products
Viper Archery Products powered our 3D mountain course and provided support for our event. They also supported the event in person with an at-event booth stocked full of archery gear.
Jinx’Em Scents
Jinx’Em Scents powered our 3D mountain course and provided support for our event.
Boss Stabilizers
Boss Stabilizers powered our 3D mountain course and provided support for our event.
Crazy Acres Farm
Crazy Acres Farm powered our 3D mountain course and provided support for our event. They also provided on site tear down support after the event.
WARNER Law Offices
Warner Law Office powered our 3D mountain course and provided support for our event.
Grit on the Mountain
What made the competition format so revealing was that it couldn’t be gamed by any one type of athlete, and that was on purpose. Pure fitness focus? Welcome to our 3D course, nice to meet ya! The dead-eye shooter found out what it’s like to draw on a max heart rate after carrying sandbags and dragging sleds at speed. And the head-to-head bracket made sure that even the best performances of the weekend could come undone in a single high-pressure moment against a fresh opponent who wanted it just as bad.
The competitors who showed up this weekend brought something you can’t fake: persistence. Nobody mailed it in after a rough segment. Nobody made excuses when the mountain took something from them. They shook it off, stepped to the next stake — or the next bracket matchup — and competed. Whether they were chasing a podium finish or just trying to outperform last year’s version of themselves, the effort was identical across the board. And by the way…noone quit. Not a single competitor.
THE PODIUM
When the dust settled and the scores were tallied, these competitors stood above the rest in their divisions. Every one of them earned it.
OVERALL GRAND CHAMPION
Hameed Talebian
Men’s Division · Under 40
3RD PLACE
Luc LaChance
1ST PLACE
Gabe Hrabosky
2ND PLACE
Lucas Geiman
Men’s Division · 40 – 49
2ND PLACE
Ryan Havlicek
1ST PLACE
Brandon Stewart
3RD PLACE
Gary O’Donnell
Men’s Division · 50 and over
3RD PLACE
Kenny Hollingsworth
1ST PLACE
Chris Martin
2ND PLACE
Chad Bowser
WOMEN’S DIVISION
1ST PLACE
Alicia Messner
HUNT CAMP ENERGY
Here’s what the scorecards don’t capture: the laughter between stations. The trash talk that was never actually mean. The way a group of people who met 48 hours ago but felt like hunt camp buddies by Sunday afternoon. There was good food and the kind of easy conversation that only happens when people are genuinely comfortable with each other.
The energy all weekend had the texture of hunt camp. Anyone who’s spent time in a camp the night before an opener knows exactly what that means. Stories get told. Gear gets compared. Someone says something ridiculous and the whole group loses it. Nobody’s in a rush to go anywhere. That was Winterplace on May 1st and 2nd, just with bows and a mountain course instead of the wild, wonderful places we love to adventure to.
HUNT CAMP ENERGY
First-year events are a gamble. There’s no blueprint, no proven model, and no guarantee that the thing you’ve been building in your head will translate when real people show up and real weather arrives. The Appalachian Bowhunter Challenge took that gamble — and by every measure that matters, it paid off.
What was built this weekend at Winterplace wasn’t just an event. It was a community touchstone. A thing people will talk about at their home ranges in the coming months. A reason to mark the calendar and start training now. If this is what year one looks like, the ceiling on what this event can become is genuinely exciting to think about.
To every competitor, every volunteer, every sponsor, and everyone who showed up and brought their best — thank you for making this what it was. See you on the mountain.
Until Next Year, Mountain
The Appalachian Bowhunter Challenge — Winterplace Ski Resort · May 1–2, 2026 · 50 competitors, one unforgettable weekend.
