Freeride & Big Mountain
Molly Armanino
- Freeride Skiing
- Nationality
- United States
- Hometown
- South Lake Tahoe / Kirkwood, California, USA
- Born
- 5 May 1993
- Turned pro
- 2023
- Primary discipline
- Freeride Skiing
About Molly Armanino
American freeride skier from South Lake Tahoe (Kirkwood home mountain), born 5/5/1993 in Placerville, CA. Entered the FWT as a wildcard in her 2023 debut season and immediately finished as Vice World Champion (2nd overall) - one of the most successful wildcard debuts in tour history. Returned on a wildcard again for 2025, winning the Kicking Horse BC Pro outright, and took bronze at the FIS Freeride World Championships Andorra 2026.
'experienced' undersells a genuinely remarkable wildcard story. She entered the FWT as a wildcard in her debut 2023 season and immediately finished as Vice World Champion (2nd overall) - one of the most successful wildcard debuts in tour history. She returned on a wildcard again for 2025, winning the Kicking Horse BC Pro outright (84.67 points). Most recently, per FWT's own live results, she took bronze (3rd) at the FIS Freeride World Championships Andorra 2026 - a detail the flat 'experienced freerider' framing completely misses. From South Lake Tahoe (Kirkwood home mountain), she also runs a climate-advocacy nonprofit in her community and made a personal film, 'Slopes of Change,' about grief and resilience through skiing (released via SCOTT Sports, Feb 2025). Equipment: SCOTT confirmed via SCOTT's own athlete page as her sponsor since her 2023 wildcard breakthrough, specifically for goggles (the React model) and an ultralight avalanche patrol backpack - not skis. Her ski brand is unclear: some secondary sources point to Elan, others to K2, but neither is corroborated by a primary source (no official Elan or K2 athlete-roster listing found for her), so no ski Products row was created.
Sponsors: SCOTT; ZipFit; Stio; Barton Health
Setup
2 items
Goggles
Scott React
- Off-piste
Named as a personal favorite in her own SCOTT athlete Q&A.
Named by Armanino as one of her favorite SCOTT products, part of her backcountry kit.
Backpack
Scott Ultra Light Patrol (avalanche airbag backpack)
- Off-piste
Named as a personal favorite in her own SCOTT athlete Q&A.
Named by Armanino as pivotal to her backcountry kit.
Setup verified 20 July 2026
Sources
- https://www.freerideworldtour.com/riders/molly-armanino/
- https://www.scott-sports.com/global/en/teams/wintersports/ws-freeride/molly-armanino
- https://www.sierrasun.com/news/truckee-freeskier-bradley-out-for-season/
- https://southtahoenow.com/02/07/2025/south-lake-tahoes-molly-armanino-tops-ski-podium-during-freeride-world-tour