Italian and Lambertson seem to be off the radar of most spring skiers and I found very little beta on the ski lines on these peaks but there are some good ones and they make a great link up to ski. Obviously with a good 4wd vehicle these are some of the easier 13ers in the Elks to climb in summer or fall and it seems like that's when most people have climbed them, but I wanted to try something different. This time of year was really nice, for a few reasons and not so nice for other reasons. Highlights include skiing both peaks in about 3.5 hours and not dealing with constant 4x4 traffic in the area as this seems like a popular road up to American Flag Peak. The main detractor was mud pits on an otherwise pretty tame 4x4 road which stopped me right at the Lily Pond Trailheads where the road turns to a high clearance road, which meant a 4 mile road walk each direction from what otherwise would be a very chill day. I also think this would be a great road to do a mountain bike approach on since the road is never that steep or rocky, and I was sad I didn't have mine.

Started my day off hiking up the road in trail runners at 4:10 AM, I made quick time and was already two miles in as the sun rose over the Sawatch side of Taylor Park. This area of the Sawatch range is surprisingly beautiful and the sunrise did not disappoint, though photos always do.

After a short while I came to a large creek crossing in the road, which was surprisingly easy to navigate by heading into the willows just upstream of the road. The creek splits into several small creeks which were small enough to step over. After the second large switchback the creek was flowing across the road for about 1/10th of a mile but was easy enough to rock hop through and soon I came to Oliver's Cabin which is where snow started to be consistent. There is a lot of private property in this area so be sure to stay on the road in these areas. Once past Oliver's Cabin, the road goes downhill to another creek crossing, this one was also easy enough to step across just upstream of the road, which is always a privilege this time of year.

From here, at 11,400 ft, I switched to my ski boots and skinned up the basin, heading south to bypass the initial cliff band, then heading to the north to work my way past the next cliff band, before finally heading west into the upper basin at 12,400 ft where the ski lines start from.

I switched from skinning to crampons and got out my axe beginning my way up one of the south east facing lines coming off Lambertson. These lines were still well filled in for June, due to the large snow year the Elks had, but I was still impressed by the amount of snow all the way down here in Taylor Park. With about 800 feet of sun cupped snow between me and the summit, and the sun beating down on this line, it was time to climb as this aspect was already softening up at 7:30 AM in spite of a solid overnight freeze. Luckily the climbing went quickly, since this line is surprisingly steep, I measured 45 degrees, and I was able to make it to the summit in about 45 minutes with great 360 degree views, but the north couloir on Italian was what had my attention since that was where I was headed next. I took some pictures and transitioned to ski mode and was heading down around 8:30 AM. The top sun cups were still firm so that was a little rough, but after about 100 feet of vertical I got to the point where the line steepened and the snow was pointed more directly at the rising sun, and it was soft enough here to make some pretty enjoyable turns, shaving the tops off the sun cups and leaving a layer of dust free snow where I skied. There were about 600 ft of decently enjoyable turns before I traversed around the basin toward the bottom of the north couloir on Italian.

From here it was time to get my pointy bits back out of my bag and hang my skis up to boot up the 950 ft of vertical to the summit of Italian. This couloir is actually pretty aesthetic and I was happy to see the rock face was keeping the east side (climbers left) in the shade since it was getting pretty warm in the basin. I started up this line toward my second peak of the day, excited to make it to the shade so I could cool off. This couloir is also pretty steep, around 42 degrees, so the climbing went quickly and soon enough I was in the shade, which meant firm snow and even easier climbing. The texture was perfect for booting up and I was happy to be making swift progress, until I hit the sun again at the top, and the snow got sloppy with 2 inches of corn on a firm bed surface. Not a problem, just had to make sure the crampons were all the way thru the corn into the frozen snow beneath it as I worked my way up. Once at the top of the couloir the line turns to the right for about 30 more feet of vertical before it topped out in a cornice that crossed the entire ridge top.

I climbed up to the thinnest spot in the cornice and hacked through it with the adze side of my axe before stepping onto grassy tundra 5 feet from the summit. That was sweet, I think to myself and step onto the summit of my 200th ranked 13er, taking a few moments to savor the views and take a picture of Teocalli, which I climbed with my Mom and Sister 2 years prior, basically the same weekend (I also wrote a trip report for that one, slightly on the silly side).

I signed the summit register which was old and tattered before downclimbing through the cornice again to transition to my skis on this steep face of snow just below the cornice so I could get my ski descent in from as close to the true summit as possible. I started skiing around 10:15 and the top part was sun cupped and runnelled as heck but the skiers left side (more sun exposed) turned into really smooth skiing quickly and I made some glorious turns down into the basin, then down the tiers of slope and bench all the way back to the end of the snow at 11,400 ft, arriving around 10:45. This was a really nice ski link up with the sun exposed line off Lambertson leading directly to the next climb on Italian and I was sad it was over already, but stoked to have another ranked peak ski in the books and 2k of decent late spring skiing on the day.

From here I switched back to my trail runners and hung my skis and boots on my bag and got ready for the slog back out. I don't know why, but time seems to pass twice as fast in the dark of morning compared to the way out in the daylight. I saw only one ATV on my way out and I think they were pretty surprised to see a person carrying skis, since I was pretty far from snow by that point. It always makes me laugh, imagining the stories people visiting from Texas must tell their friends about the people of Colorado. I kept moving quickly down the road and eventually saw the most glorious sight, my truck and the promise of snacks and cold Yerba Maté, at 12:30 PM making for a 8:20 round trip but about 4.5 hours were walking on the road, so if you are able to MTB or drive higher up I think you could have a great easy day with this ski link up. Hopefully the road resurfacing and water bar work they do this summer improves conditions for future spring skiers and snow climbers. Enjoy!

I also made a little edit of the day if anyone wants to watch Youtube Ski of Italian and Lambertson