On the upper flanks of Arapahoe Basin, where the air thins and the decisions matter more than your quads wish they did, four U.S. athletes stood at the edge of maybe. Maybe they’d qualify. Maybe they’d finally break into the rarified air of the Freeride World Tour. And maybe – if they nailed the landing and held the line – they’d go from hopefuls to headliners.
This year, “maybe” became “definitely.” Kelly Hilleke, Joey Leonardo, Wynter McBride, and Shayne Blue Sandblom didn’t just survive the unforgiving terrain of the Americas Challenger Series. They dominated it. And now they’re heading to the 2026 Freeride World Tour with the kind of confidence that can’t be faked – or fast-tracked.
The Challenger Series: Freeride’s Iron Gauntlet
If you think the Challenger Series is some secondary sideshow, try riding it. It’s the FWT’s own crucible – a short, intense gauntlet that decides who gets promoted to the world’s gnarliest freeride league. It splits into two regions: Region 1 (Europe, Asia, Oceania) and Region 2 (North and South America). Each region hosts a handful of Challenger events, drawing the hungriest, most skilled athletes from the feeder qualifiers and FWT drop-outs looking for redemption.
Only the top four ski men, two ski women, two snowboard men, and one snowboard woman from each region make it out. The math is brutal. The terrain, more so.
This isn’t just skiing. It’s triage by terrain feature.
Tour Highlights: Kirkwood Chaos and A-Basin Ascendancy
This year’s Region 2 Challenger Series started in Kirkwood, California – home of wind-lashed ridgelines and bomb-hardened chutes. Conditions swung from promising to perilous, and judging rewarded riders who didn’t just survive the line, but danced with it.
But it was Arapahoe Basin – the final double-header stop – that turned the season. With Whitewater’s event rerouted there due to weather, A-Basin hosted two key events back-to-back in April. The altitude alone – A-Basin tops out at over 13,000 feet – was enough to blur judgment and blur vision. Add spring snowpack volatility and some make-or-break judging? You get the most pressure-packed days of freeride many of these athletes have ever faced.
That’s where the Americans showed their teeth.
The U.S. Athletes Who Made It
Kelly Hilleke is, by many accounts, the most clinical of the group. He doesn’t waste time, space, or energy on snow. The 22-year-old from Edwards, Colorado, wasn’t just consistent – he won the second A-Basin event and locked down the overall title for the Americas Challenger Series. Hilleke skis with a speed-to-stability ratio that most of us dream about when watching drone footage. His lines were aggressive, but never reckless. No flash – just fact.
Joey Leonardo, also from Colorado, made his mark at the same event, placing fourth to secure second place in the overall season rankings. Leonardo is the kind of skier who lets terrain dictate tempo, not ego. He doesn’t fight the mountain; he composes with it. His approach is part tactician, part artist – like if calculus wore Gore-Tex.
Wynter McBride brought cool precision and a style that made judges lean forward in their seats. In a field that demands flawless execution under fire, McBride stood out for skiing that was both composed and committed. She handled the tricky conditions at A-Basin with ease, earning her way to the FWT not with one big move, but a whole season of smart, stylish skiing that never blinked.
Shayne Blue Sandblom, the snowboarder whose name sounds like a wind gust off a Scandinavian fjord, laid down some of the most confident riding of the series. He qualified with a blend of creative terrain use, powerful execution, and a flair that never slipped into chaos. Judges don’t just love that; they reward it. Sandblom’s presence on the FWT adds serious depth to the snowboard men’s field, and he did it the hard way – by being undeniable.
Beyond the Numbers: Why This Season Mattered
We’ve heard it said: American freeride is back. But that’s inaccurate. It never left. It just got leaner, tougher, and quieter – grinding away in the back bowls while European media hogged the spotlight. The rise of this crew isn’t a comeback; it’s a surfacing.
Each of these athletes qualified not because the judging was soft or the field was thin. They qualified because they were better when it counted most. And that’s the whole thing about freeride, isn’t it? It doesn’t matter what you did last season. The mountain resets the board every time.
And what the Challenger Series proved – again – is that American skiers and snowboarders can hang with the best. Not just on their home slopes, but on anyone’s.
The Road to the Freeride World Tour 2026
With qualification locked, the real adventure begins. The FWT is a different beast – big venues, big names, big exposure. One misstep in Verbier or Baqueira isn’t just a low score; it’s a high-speed lesson in consequence.
But these four have been battle-tested. They’ve already ridden under the kind of pressure that produces either calluses or caution tape. What lies ahead for them is the global stage – but if the Challenger Series taught us anything, it’s that they’ve been ready for that stage longer than anyone knew.
So as the snow melts and training blocks begin, know this: U.S. freeride isn’t waiting for anyone’s permission to be great. It’s already sending. And it’s got four new riders ready to show the world how Americans ride when the margin for error disappears and the only way down is the hard way.
