South Lake Tahoe’s Molly Armanino, Professional Freeride Skier and Barton Athlete, has been selected to compete in the 2024 Freeride World Tour.

The Freeride World Tour is a world-class, international snowsports competition – where more than 40 skiers and snowboarders will perform tricks on natural, ungroomed terrain for the ‘World Champion’ title.

Molly won second place in the 2023 tournament – an incredible feat after recovering from several lower extremity injuries leading up to the competition. The most severe was an injury on her right foot; as a result of extreme frostbite, Molly had to have her big toe removed.

She regained balance and strength with help of her physical therapists at Barton Rehabilitation and developed her training, honing in on mental focus specifically, with her coaches at Barton Performance.

Molly’s mantra in life and sport is Visualize. Known for bold ski lines, Molly is calculated with solid mental visualization and maintains a strong body so she can charge hard on the mountain.

Molly is also a visionary of change. When she’s not carving down mountainsides, Molly leads the charge on climate change advocacy with the Tahoe Climate Change Action Network. She feels deeply about protecting the environment, lending appreciation for the places and landscapes that she spends so much time enjoying.

This summer, Molly experienced the unimaginable loss of her brother, local professional photographer and passionate skier, Sam Armanino. Molly and Sam have countless memories skiing and adventuring together, from which they forged a very close bond. Sam and Molly challenged each other, and were each other’s biggest fans. He remains her biggest motivation.

As Molly enters the 2024 Freeride season, she dedicates her performance to Sam.

We look forward to joining together as a community to support Molly in her journey, and wish her a fulfilling and healthy winter season.

Follow along with Molly’s story at @mollyarmanino and learn more at her Athlete biography page on BartonHealth.org.