Back on his first-ever skiing trip with his family, Ira Riklis realized that even after his hour-long struggle to get into his skis and close the bindings his problems had just begun. His father initially tried to teach me to use a herringbone method for walking in the skis. But skis forty-five years ago were much longer than those today, and young Ira was much shorter. The skis he was wearing were much too long for his stature (or lack thereof) at the time.
After another hour of frustrating struggle, Ira Riklis had gone all of three feet. Exhausted, he sat down in the snow and started to cry. Fortunately his sister was there to help. She took pity on him and taught him how to sidestep. To this day, he has yet to see anyone use the herringbone for simple movements around the slopes!