“Molly takes in the Andean sunshine next to a camp-ing pod at El Azufre, Argentina. We were some of the first groups from North America to explore this interest-ing slice of South American terrain.” Photo: Ryan Salm “THERE IS SOMETHING ABOUT BEING HOME IN THE VASTNESS AND RUGGEDNESS OF THE SIERRA THAT GIVES ME A SENSE OF HAPPINESS AND FREEDOM. I REMEMBER SKIING ONE DAY AND TAKING A DEEP BREATH AND SAYING TO MYSELF,‘ THIS IS WHAT MAKES ME HAPPY.’” —MOLLY ARMANINO THE SKI INDUSTRY began to take note of Armanino in a big way in 2022, the winter before our trip to Argentina. That year, she racked up a slew of wins at Freeride World Tour qualifiers, and though her season was truncated by injury, the FWT invited her to join the 2023 pro tour. She was invited to the Sister Summit and signed with Scott. She still holds down a full-time job as a planner and heads up a climate change advocacy nonprofit on top of her busy ski schedule. Nonethe-less, Armanino has found that environmental advocacy is a passion she can weave seamlessly into her increasingly high profile as a pro skier, following in the footsteps of skiers such as Caroline Gleich and Michelle Parker. Skiing and the environment have always been twin pas-sions for Armanino. Unlike most of her tour competitors, the South Lake Tahoe-based skier spent the end of high school, her college years and the first half of her 20s com-pletely off snow. It was also a break from her Placerville, CA, childhood and her family’s entrenched ski tradition. “We grew up skiing every weekend. To this day, my dad loves skiing more than I do,” Armanino says. “My grandma is Norwegian, and that is just what they did growing up, so we did, too.” Eventually Armanino ended up in a race program. As the racing scene got more intense, a seemingly negative competition culture clashed with Armanino’s effervescent, adventurous spirit. The final straw came at a Junior Olym-pics qualifying race, when, in an attempt to inject levity, the then-16-year-old Armanino and a friend were arrested whilte trying to streak though a Safeway the night before the race. “I was in so much trouble,” she says. “I spent a lot of time grounded after that. And I didn’t ski much more.” Armanino was ready for a change. She focused on her other interests—wildlife and the environment. At University of California Santa Cruz, Armanino pursued a degree in ecology, learned to sail and volunteered at wildlife and ma-rine rescues in California. She spent time with a nonprofit in Costa Rica helping protect sea turtle nests from poachers, followed by two post-collegiate years studying and working in her field in Australia and New Zealand. When Armanino returned home, she found a Tahoe-based job at a national environmental consultancy. It turned out, however, skiing wasn’t all that far in her rearview mirror. “When I moved back from Australia, I realized that the mountains were something that I couldn’t live without,” Armanino says. “There is something about being home in the vastness and ruggedness of the Sierra that gives me a sense of happiness and freedom. I remember skiing one day and taking a deep breath and saying to myself, ‘This is what makes me happy.’” Shortly thereafter, she quit her consulting job of two years to achieve better balance in her life. “At first, I didn’t care about being a pro,” she says. “I just wanted to ski, and I don’t need anyone else to do that.” A new, more flexible full-time job as an assistant planner with Exline, an environmental permitting consultant in the Tahoe Basin, offered that balance—and more time on snow. Molly Armanino 077
The Ski Journal Volume 17, Issue 1: Page 77
