Category Archives: Ira D. Riklis

Another benefit of being on the first chair is the efficient use of time. A skier that waits to start until 9:30 – 10:00 am, stops and battles the crowds at lunch time for a lousy hamburger and a seat … Continue reading →

You see, it’s not just about the lift lines. There are other reasons to be on that first chair. For one thing, if you are a mountain cruiser as I am, it means that I get first crack at all … Continue reading →

Vail Mountain officially opens for skiers at 8:30 am. The lift lines will open at 8:00 am and the first skiers will be allowed onto the lifts at 8:15 am. This is generally referred to as “first chair”. Officially, all … Continue reading →

Most people, when they go skiing, naturally feel that they are on vacation, which they are, and then they do what they would normally do on vacation. This includes sleeping late. The vacationer tends to sleep in, get a lazy … Continue reading →

Still more from Ira (Ira Riklis is on LinkedIn): So, when Mike was still a ski instructor, and was being paid to ski with me, he wore, as did all members of the Vail Ski School, a medium blue uniform … Continue reading →

As I wrote earlier, Mike and I met because he was assigned to me for a private lesson when Mike was an instructor with the Vail Ski School. This turned out to be a marvelous stroke of good luck as … Continue reading →

Ira Riklis continues about Vail: So we did return that winter to Vail and have returned every winter since. I have skied exclusively in Vail for over 30 years now. The town is charming. The slopes are maintained superbly. The … Continue reading →

Perhaps one more then innovative product is worth mentioning. I had a pair of Burt Bindings on my skis. These were thick plates with retractable metal cables that attached to anchors on the skis. The theory was that, if properly … Continue reading →

How Ira Riklis got back into skiing: The sons of Alden Hanson, the Dow Chemical scientist that invented the fan powered snow making machine and the “flow” material that would make ski boots SO much more comfortable, Chris and Denny … Continue reading →

Now deciding to go skiing in the winter of 1975-1976 was no small deal. In 1970 I had suffered a severe leg break of both the Tibia and Fibula, directly at the top of the ski boot. The leg did … Continue reading →