Mt. Oxford

Route: Via Mt. Belford
Posted On: 3/4/2022, By: lkk8815
Info: Parked 3.1 miles below the Missouri Gulch TH where plowing stops, warm temps haven't melted out the road any further past that. Road is hard packed to the Missouri Gulch TH. Wore snow shoes once on the trail, didn't look like anyone had been there in a while. Rebreaking the trail for that first mile wasn't terrible since it's easy to follow where the old trench is underneath new snow, at least up until the open slide area at 10,800' where things got dire. Used up a lot of energy to wallow through this section, it took me over an hour just to get through 300'. The snow was deep and very soft probably from the warm weather cooking it for the last few days. Thankfully the snow was firmer once back in the trees. After leaving the cabin/camping area at 11,300', I stayed high to the left above the standard trail on drier rocks for a bit then went straight up Pecks Peak as the slopes were dry albeit a little loose. Ridge from Pecks to Belford to Oxford all pretty dry, snow patches are mostly avoidable, didn't use any special gear. Went down Belford's NW ridge and did use spikes higher up as I crossed several hard steep snow patches. Once back down in the gulch, I again stayed high and to the right in the rocks to avoid the standard trail which would have been more miserable wallowing through soft snow (it was warm yesterday!) Total stats were ~16.5 miles and 6700', took me 13.5 hours. Long day. 

Route: Via Mt. Belford
Posted On: 2/13/2022, By: headsizeburrito
Info: Conditions haven't changed since daway8's report other than me packing the snow a bit more, but I was there today and figured I'd add a few pictures. I took the switchbacks pretty much the whole way up and down the NW ridge to Belford. Generally able to find it, though occasionally buried and easily picked up again. In a few places it's pretty firm and steep enough that microspikes worked but were marginal. Overall easy conditions however. Additional comments: Bathroom at BelOx summer TH is unlocked. Road walk from where 390 plowing stops to summer TH adds about 6mi/800ft round trip. 

Route: Via Mt. Belford
Posted On: 2/13/2022, By: daway8
Info: Road from where the plowing stops (3.1mi from summer trailhead) still very well packed (but still a no-go for vehicles other than snowmobiles). Trench from a couple of weeks ago was largely filled in but still visible. Going through the old avy zone the old trench was totally gone and a chore to redo. Went up Pecks Peak which I liked MUCH better than that horridly long slop up Belford. From Belford to Oxford was pretty windblown overall but had some surprisingly large patches of snow - some of which was very soft, other spots hard as a rock. Slipped a couple times on the way to Oxford, pulled out my spikes for the return. Wind ramped up dramatically on the way back across - had every single layer in my pack on since the -25F wind-chill was definitely accurate, if not underestimated. 

Route: Via Mt. Belford
Posted On: 1/16/2022, By: rosey33
Info: Winter closure about 3.5 miles below summer trailhead. Road is packed by snowmobiles. Snowshoes were helpful on the road and getting above tree-line. It's basically a super highway. 

Route: Via Mt. Belford
Posted On: 12/5/2021, By: hanada
Info: I took standard route up and was mostly dry. Put on spikes at 2.7 mi bc there was some ice/snow and it was getting steeper. I saw 2 other groups, neither had them, but both made comments about how smart I was for having them. Also some ice between the two peaks. I decended via Southwest slopes route. It looked like nobody had taken this route for awhile. It was fine for the first part, but about a mile from where the turn off for Missouri there is a decent amount of snow. I wished I had brought my gaiters at this point. It was hard to follow trail bc it was so snow covered. There was an extended period of time I was just boulder hopping around to avoid post holing ankle to knee deep in places. Finally when I saw the sign where the trail splits to Missouri, I found my way over through a maze of jumping boulder to boulder or finding hard spots of snow. Then pretty much rest of the trail, until it meets up with standard route, needed traction. Other than that, it was a beautiful day. The views going up Belford were gorgeous!! 

Route: Via Mt. Belford
Posted On: 11/23/2021, By: Eagle Eye
Info: (Mt Belford standard route and Belford to Mt Oxford trip 11/21/21) Apparently some snow had fallen late Saturday afternoon or night in the area. There was only one other vehicle in the large Missouri Gulch TH lot when I arrived there about 4 am. Another one pulled in about 6 and I started just slightly ahead of 2 groups of two. There was snow coverage but no tracks, the first big creek crossing is in great shape with lots of logs across it. Some areas around the cabin ruins were dry and then snow coverage again. At 11.9 k I briefly lost the start of the switchbacks and then got back in them for the remainder going up Mt Belford. This was the deepest snow I encountered this day, just deep wind-blown powder but sometimes obscuring the summer trail. At the flat saddle spot around 13.9 k snow on the trail became much thinner/dryer. I took some pictures on the Mt Belford summit and none of them are on my phone, I'm not sure why. I continued on toward Mt Oxford and the second deepest snow was on the short ridgeline descending to the Belford-Oxford saddle. Then the remainder of the way had only minor snow. I ran into the couple people I'd been seeing for a while on their way up Mt Oxford when I was coming down. The other two people had summited Mt B, and then descended. The afternoon weather became very calm and nice! I had worn micro spikes the whole day and they were perfect for the conditions. 

Route: Via Mt. Belford
Posted On: 11/16/2021, By: Stee
Info: Very dry conditions as most have said. There was a good amount of consolidated snow on the trail up Belford above treeline and crossing to Oxford but you could avoid it. I thought microsprikes were great for coming down the steep part of Belford. The wind over to Oxford was pretty brutal. 

Route: Via Mt. Belford
Posted On: 10/3/2021, By: teathyme
Info: Road up to Winfield is still clear! Trail was in summer conditions until around 13,000ft. Patchy and powdery snow/ise the rest of the way up to both Belford and Oxford summits. Brought microspikes and had to use them above 13,000 for the steep and icy sections. 

Route: Via Mt. Belford
Posted On: 7/28/2021, By: DaniWeiner81
Info: Great (but difficult) hike. If descending via Elkhead Pass, the trail is washed out at the bottom from a recent mudslide, but otherwise it is a beautiful and mellow descent. 

Route: Via Mt. Belford
Posted On: 7/11/2021, By: longlevi823
Info: Successful summit of Mt. Oxford via Mt. Belford today. The decent down from Mt. Belford is pretty simple and easy going. Well defined trail you can't miss that leads you to the top of Mt. Oxford. It was a bit windy and chilly at the top of Oxford, but the sun was out enough that it made it not too bad. I hunkered down near the geological survey to get away from the winds and eat a peanut butter sandwich. Hike back to Mt. Belford was good too. Ascending to Belford was also pretty easy going compared to what it looks like. Lots of haze from wildfire smoke, from a quick Google search that doesn't look like it's from Colorado though. 

Route: SE direct from Pine Creek Trail
Posted On: 7/12/2021, By: GordoByrn
Info: Made a track from this TR: https://www.14ers.com/php14ers/tripreport.php?trip=16583 TR has co-ordinates for where you turn up and tips. No sign of a trail but it goes. ~1000 feet vert of bushwhacking, some very large loose boulders above 13k. I made a track from the TR gpx and it proved useful. Pic is where we turned up. Our Strava: https://strava.app.link/t0vpj1W6Phb Our Approach: https://strava.app.link/V4WTrR06Phb 

Route: Via Mt. Belford
Posted On: 7/3/2021, By: dwoodward13
Info: Summer conditions. Tons of wildflowers in the avy debris section at treeline. Took Elkhead Pass down and 1 or 2 minor snowfields to cross but no biggie. 

Route: Via Mt. Belford
Posted On: 6/25/2021, By: MrSmileweil
Info: Did the Belford-Oxford-Missouri loop today. Oxford was heavily iced over last night and while I think it will melt rapidly, it will probably stick around for a couple more days. Just meant we had to be more cautious ascending Oxford as it was very easy to slide onto your behind. Doable without any spikes, as we ended up with first ascent today not expecting those conditions. I'd probably budget a couple of hours for going over to Oxford and back given the conditions, but you'll probably finish before that assuming this isn't your first rodeo. Ridge up Oxford bad, ridge back up Belford good. Sun will make the ice softer and easier to walk on without slipping. 

Route: Via Mt. Belford
Posted On: 5/3/2021, By: Another Steve
Info: Did the ridge walk on 5/1. The Oxford side of the ridge is almost completely snow free and is a nice walk. The descent from the Belford side still has large snow-covered areas and the remnants of a cornice. The snow later in the day was becoming very slushy in the warming temperatures, making kick stepping an interesting exercise in not slipping down the slope. You can avoid it in places by sticking to the rocks on the north side of the ridge, but in some areas crossing the snow is inevitable. See the recent Belford conditions reports for recent snow conditions up to Belford. TL;DR: Snow lower down is getting pretty bad in the warming temps. 

Route: Via Mt. Belford
Posted On: 3/21/2021, By: amitchell
Info: This is a tough route in winter. You'll need at least 30 inch snowshoes to get through the river crossing section below tree line. Give yourself lots of time, food and water, and plan to be above 13,000 ft for up to 5 hours. Took us 13 hours total. Should be easier if you're planning to do this in the next week since the trail is well broken. Also beware the access road, very easy to get stuck in snow. I wouldn't park past the switchback at this time of year.