After 20 years of skiing and countless lessons, both group and private, Ira Riklis had become a pretty good advanced—but not expert—skier. By that time, he’d pretty much resigned himself to the feeling that he might not ever reach the next level of expertise he aspired to. He could handle pretty much any slope, but not with the degree of confidence or elegance he wanted. Like many people trying to improve in their endeavors, he’d reached a plateau, and had gotten stuck there. Then, during a trip to Vail, he met instructor Mike Bartasuis.
Unlike most instructors, Mike focused less on teaching every move and technique at once, placing the emphasis instead on the one single item in your technique which was most interfering with your rhythm. He’d get you to understand what you needed to change then had you practice that one move over and over until it was ingrained in your muscle memory. Then he had you move on to the next most important skill you needed to learn. Under Mike’s tutelage, Ira Riklis was eventually able to break through the barriers that had been holding him back and reach the level of expertise and grace that he had been aspiring to for so many years.