6/19/2023 Route: Via Mt. Belford Posted On: 6/26/2023, By: Jonathan Deffenbaugh Info: Followed the ridge over to Oxford then back to Belford, definitely summer conditions. Pretty straight forward as far as the route is concerned, no traction needed. |
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6/18/2023 Route: Via Mt. Belford Posted On: 6/19/2023, By: sunburnt Info: About 10 others completed starting traverses as late as 12. Fresh snow since last week. Snowfield to ridge was post holey and a little sketchy getting to the ridge. Ridge down to saddle was semi solid and 60% snow free although I dislodged a couple rocks where the snow had recently melted and ground was muddy. Ascent to Belford was mostly snow free but a small snowfield made the trail around the first knob unusable. Couple hikers went straight through the tundra. Summit doesn't have much snow on it. Picture is looking back towards ridge up to Belford. |
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6/11/2023 Route: Via Mt. Belford Posted On: 6/12/2023, By: supranihilest Info: I did Belford from Peck's Peak, not Belford's standard northwest ridge. From Pecks the ridge to Belford is easy and dry except like 30 feet of low angle snow at Belford's summit. The ridge from Belford to the saddle with Oxford is a bit snowy and muddy with potential consequences for a slip. Take it carefully if you need to. Microspikes wouldn't be the worst idea but by no means are they necessary. Ice axe would only be of marginal use and flotation would be useless. Some snow going up Oxford but much less, and less consequential too. Descending Belford's northwest ridge is quite snowy and icy at the top, and many of the upper switchbacks are packed ice. For the uninitiated spikes and an axe would probably offer some comfort, but they aren't strictly necessary, just be careful. Snow below treeline was still supportive at 1pm. Don't bother with flotation for these two, it's not necessary for the rest of the season. |
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5/21/2023 Route: Waverly Gulch Posted On: 5/22/2023, By: Posthole Pete Info: Started the day with some lovely river crossings. The warm air helped with that a ton. Relatively easy bushwhack to get up into the gully. Found what appeared to be a very old trail so followed that most of the way before dropping into the gully. Once on snow in the gully, we skinned all the way to the summit (from around 11k). The freeze ended up being extremely reasonable. Had fantastic powdered corn turns off the summit down to about 12k. Then had great corn back to put shoe stash at 11k. Ended up with about 3.5k of continuous riding. Following our track back in to the river was much easier with daylight. Afternoon river crossings were much more pleasant! |
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11/27/2022 Route: Via Mt. Belford Posted On: 11/28/2022, By: bmcqueen Info: Traverse to Oxford had less snow than Belford, but more than enough wind to go around. |
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10/16/2022 Route: Ox Southeast Slopes --> Belford --> Elkhead Pass Posted On: 10/16/2022, By: lang_daly Info: Very little snow, harder bushwhacking down low than expected. A few snow patches going over to Belford but can be avoided or done without traction. No snow down to Elkhead pass from the Belford summit either. |
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10/12/2022 Route: Via Mt. Belford Posted On: 10/13/2022, By: swilson753 Info: 1-3" of snow in shaded/north aspects of the trail up to Belford starting at 13k. A couple spots are starting to get icy. Traction/poles are helpful depending on your comfort level, but not necessary. On the traverse to Oxford, there is one shady section on the downclimb from Belford where traction may be useful. Aspens in Missouri Gulch are brown/bare at this point, but still yellow at lower elevations along CR 390 and the Arkansas River. |
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9/25/2022 Route: Via Mt. Belford Posted On: 9/26/2022, By: NativeTransplant Info: All clear, summer conditions no snow. |
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8/6/2022 Route: Via Mt. Belford Posted On: 8/6/2022, By: Syde0004 Info: Had the summit to myself for a while. Was windy and cold otherwise the trail conditions were great. |
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8/3/2022 Route: Via Mt. Belford Posted On: 8/4/2022, By: Mark Goldstein Info: Mt Belford & Mt Oxford dry, nice, summer conditions. No snow noted. Thank you CFI for improving the trail. |
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6/12/2022 Route: Via Mt. Belford Posted On: 6/14/2022, By: JacerJack Info: Oxford (from Belford) is 99% snow free, except for one small ~10 yard patch of snow that is easily navigable without traction and will melt very soon. Standard Bel/Ox combo is doable in non-waterproof trail runners without traction. Elkhead pass side is still holding quite a bit of snow, but melting fast. Snow isn't very deep, so postholing shouldn't be an issue; more just wet and sloppy. Lots of mud and slushy snow below the Missouri turnoff. Trail is completely submerged in swift runoff down closer to the Belford/Missouri split. Would recommend descending Belford via the standard route for next week or two. |
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6/11/2022 Route: Via Mt. Belford Posted On: 6/11/2022, By: lnh507 Info: Perfect bluebird day on Oxford/Belford. The route is total summer conditions- one small snowfield on the way up Oxford which I did move slowly through on the way down due to postholing potential (only actually punched through once), but it's short. Other than that, the only couple small snowfields on the way up Belford were easily avoidable but there was no need to bypass as they were so brief and shallow. I think they were gone on the way down. |
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6/3/2022 Route: Via Mt. Belford Posted On: 6/3/2022, By: kalestew Info: Mostly dry all the way up Belford, first snow crossings are small and happened near 13,600'. Moving at 5 AM it was hard packed and easy to walk on, but way softer on the descent (around 10 AM for us). Most snow is seen along the Belford ridge descending towards Oxford, conditions get muddier as the day goes on. Missouri looks like she's holding more snow, so different story on the other side of Elkhead Pass. |
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5/19/2022 Route: Via Mt. Belford Posted On: 5/19/2022, By: btillack Info: I tackled Belford, Oxford, and Missouri today (5/19/22) from the Missouri Gulch TH. Road is dry and passable for 2WD. Beyond the Belford-Elkhead Pass junction the snow on the Missouri switchbacks caused some postholing nightmares. It was like wading through thigh-deep water disguised as snow. So do this early in the morning to avoid such misery. Snow on the Belford trail to its summit and even beyond to Oxford is nearly non-existent. So no postholing issues there. Wind was ferocious. |
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4/23/2022 Route: Via Mt. Belford Posted On: 4/24/2022, By: Will_E Info: Did Belford/Oxford from Missouri Gulch Saturday. Road is mostly dry to the TH, anything can get there. I was following fresh tracks to tree line, the trench was in place to the creek crossing, then just a single set of tracks. I put snowshoes on just before the creek crossing. Only needed snowshoes for a short distance past treeline, wind blown the rest of the way. Wind was miserable Saturday, especially from Belford to Oxford, just like every other time I've been up there. Never saw the other hiker, I'm guessing they went up Missouri. |
