SHE BEGAN TO BE NOTICED FOR HER INTENSITY ON SNOW AND ALSO HER FUN DEMEANOR, EARNING HER A VERY FITTING INSTAGRAM FOLLOWING THAT DUBBED HER“THE SENDIEST AND FRIENDLIEST.” “Never a dull moment on the road with Molly. After a long trip we had to squeeze all of our ski gear into a tiny taxi in order to barely make our bus out of Mendoza, Argentina.” Photo: Ryan Salm WHEN ARMANINO RETURNED to skiing, she dis-covered freeride competitions. “I decided to compete not necessarily to win, but to learn how to ski fluidly, pick lines and apply that skill to the backcountry,” she says. It wasn’t long before her competitive side completely took over. She spent the 2021 season crashing while sending huge airs, but by the following season, Armanino topped the podium at a few four-star Freeride World Qualifier events. She began to be noticed for her intensity on snow and also her fun personal-ity, earning her a very fitting Instagram following that dubbed her “the sendiest and friendliest.” That genuine demeanor is nearly always on display; even after consequential descents of middling snow quality—like what we encountered late season in Argentina—Armanino takes the wheel, cheerleading and encouraging others, while finding joy in any condition. On the cusp of professional success, Armanino was almost derailed in the winter of 2022. While on a multiday backcountry expedition, she suffered from severe frostbite on her toes 18 miles from the trailhead. The exit, which involved a six-mile skin, then snowmobiling to the car, then a car trip to the hospital, was an excruciating ordeal. Her big toe, and her season, never recovered. Her opportunity to compete in the last few comps of the season and qualify for the FWT evaporated. Adding injury to insult, she would ultimately lose half of her frostbitten toe as well. Months later, tour organizers invited Armanino to com-pete anyway and she never looked back. By the end of the 2023 tour, she had taken second place overall, validating her wild card invite, and putting the rest of the field on notice. “Molly opened new lines at every venue. It was hard to compare her skiing with others as it is so different,” says Rachel Croft, an FWT judge. ”It’s inspiring to see that level of creativity, commitment and, most of all, that level of confidence, especially from a female athlete.” High pressure on the tour did little to derail Armanino’s entrenched cheerfulness. “Molly is so relaxed, even for being at the FWT,” three-time FWT champion Arianna Tricomi says. “Her skiing is pretty heavy though. She likes big straight lines through rocks, skis fast and goes big. Skiing with Molly pushes me to do stuff I would not normally do.” Molly Armanino 081
The Ski Journal Volume 17, Issue 1: Page 81
