Mt. Oxford

Route: Pine Creek
Posted On: 7/5/2019, By: pturk
Info: Virtual summer conditions the whole way from Pine Creek trailhead to the summit. A few snow patches exist but they can all be avoided. I only saw a few people on the Colorado Trail and no one at the summit. 

Route: Via Mt. Belford
Posted On: 7/3/2019, By: axew01
Info: Summer conditions. If you are happy walking across snow in your yard, the few remaining patches will not give you any concern. Shorts and t-shirt day 😀 

Route: Via Mt. Belford
Posted On: 7/2/2019, By: Harrier
Info: Started at 520, reached Belford 0805, Mt. Oxford 0915, Mt. Belford, 1020, TH 1220. I think there were only 2 hikers that reached Oxford after me as the weather started to get questionable. The return from Oxford was the hardest part of the hike. Good conditions until the avalanche debris field. The runoff was so high that it was covering a 20-25 yard portion of the trail prior to the crossing. Make sure you don't accidently cross early as you should be in a wide open area when you cross. 4-6 snow fields. I'm tall with weak ankles so I had a difficult time on the 140 yard section after reaching the fallen cabin. Rec to still bring microspikes in case this small portion causes you issues. No other section was a problem. 

Route: Via Mt. Belford
Posted On: 7/2/2019, By: Taylormcgaughey1
Info: Started at 5:40, hit some snowfields just after hitting tree line. The snowfields were well traveled and easy to get across in the early morning, however in the afternoon they were slick and wet. You will also encounter a few snow patches near the summit of Belford but they are very small. There also snow patches when descending Belford to Oxford, but you can easily avoid them by briefly going off trail.Overall, pretty much summer conditions. 

Route: Via Mt. Belford
Posted On: 7/2/2019, By: BuckeyeClimber
Info: Trail in in good conditions. There are some pink ribbons that mark the way through the avy debris. Which is just amazing. Between the summits there is some snow that can be easily avoided. Just be careful here. 

Route: Via Mt. Belford
Posted On: 6/30/2019, By: Owen Puffenberger
Info: Pic shows the route from the summit of Belford. Did not make the trek myself, but many others did. Route appeared to be dry. 

Route: Via Mt. Belford
Posted On: 6/9/2019, By: AlexanderShort
Info: Yesterday started off slow as I woke up in my car at 730 am after a record number of “snooze hits”..There were a couple of wild ones starting before 4 am for this, fortunately the weather was superb through the afternoon. I hit the trail shortly after and was able to summit both Belford and Oxford. This was my second attempt at Oxford, had to bail last year due to weather. Yesterday was my 30th new summit, and the hike kicked my ass. However, if you are looking for an early season 14er (early for a big snow year ey), these peaks are a great choice. The trail seems to lie in a unique area that is wind blown so not a lot of snow coverage compared to the intimidating amount nearby. No serious exposure, gaiters were nice to have, but I've post holed way harder. Traction unnecessary. Once you see the avalanche path, head straight up, follow your feet and get after it. Missouri Gulch is a beauty! 

Route: Via Mt. Belford
Posted On: 5/30/2019, By: obo4
Info: Started at 6:30 am. Road to the TH was completely clear and dry. A few patches of snow in the forest -- microspikes were helpful for the entire route. Avalanche debris field was pretty short and easy to cross. Followed ski/boot tracks all the way up to the summit. The switchbacks up to the summit were maybe 25% exposed but there were also tracks making a beeline up the mountain. Got to the top around 10:45. Belford summit was clear of snow and the marker plate was easy to spot. The trail to Oxford was very clearly defined. The snow on the saddle ridge looked a little sketchy -- the dropoffs were steep, the wind was pretty strong, and clouds were moving in fast -- but we decided to take a closer look, reassess, and turn around if we felt unsafe. We followed boot tracks across the saddle one at a time, moving slowly and testing the snow stability. It looked/sounded/felt very solid. On the other side, we were able to speed-hike/run up to Oxford, and summited at noon. Snow was picking up so we hurried back up Belford just in time before the near-whiteout conditions that made descending from the summit scary. Thankfully we had a GPS so we inched down, following our route exactly, and avoided the new loose powdery drifts that were building up on the steepest slopes. Visibility was back to normal by the time we reached the switchbacks, so the rest of the hike was issue-free. Sky was clear and sunny again by the time we reached the car. 

Route: Via Mt. Belford
Posted On: 5/19/2019, By: WildWanderer
Info: Oxford from Belford today 

Route: Via Mt. Belford
Posted On: 4/26/2019, By: spartan0512
Info: Missouri Gulch trail head is in perfect condition. Used microspikes from start to the summit. There is some avalanche debris that covers the trail and you have to skirt around it and pick it back up. Rarely post-holed on the way down, and even less on the way up. Warm ambient temps, fluctuating cloud cover, and high winds - combined with a squall on Oxford's summit - made for a weird, challenging day at elevation. (See report on Mt. Belford for photos) 

Route: Via Waverly Mountain
Posted On: 2/13/2019, By: CaptainSuburbia
Info: We started at Clear Creek Reservoir and followed a now well trenched Colorado Trail to Waverly's east ridge. The snow in the trench was still very soft so snowshoes were necessary. We then snowshoed up a deep, soft trench through trees to ridge proper. There is an avy slope directly below ridge so you need to approach it from the right. Used microspikes rest of way. From here it's best to stay on ridge crest all the way to Waverly's summit to avoid postholing. It's about 7 miles to this point. Going up Oxford's east ridge was pretty straight forward and spikes worked good. Best to stay right of ridge crest as snow along ridge was very soft. There were several rock towers along the way that were easily climbed to the right. About 1.25 miles from Waverly to Oxford summit. This is a great way to reach Oxford in winter albeit long at roughly 16 miles. 

Route: Via Mt. Belford
Posted On: 1/6/2019, By: PeakSixTD
Info: Road is driveable to the TH but watch out for slick icy spots. All wheel drive is recomended, primarily for navigating the parking lot. There is a solid trench to treeline. We hugged the slopes to the left instead of wearing snowshoes and navigating the deep powder of the summer route. Snowshoes not necessary if you do what we did. The ridge on Belford is windblown but still enough snow to keep it interesting. We observed some shooting cracks in the snow slopes we crossed. Hard consolidated snow off Belfords summit en route to oxford. Oxford is pretty bare at the moment. 

Route: Via Mt. Belford
Posted On: 12/28/2018, By: Dose
Info: The conditions on Belford are the same as posted on Dec 24. The traverse over to Oxford is in great condition. From Belford to to saddle the ridge is holding very good snow. Stayed on the ridge proper the entire way. You can bypass some of the rocks by following the trail, but I found it much easier to stay on the ridge with the snow. There is one small downclimb of about 20 ft but it was snow free with solid rock. From saddle to the Oxford summit follow the trail up. It is pretty much wind blown although there are a few sections holding a little snow. Recommend traction from Belford to saddle. None needed from saddle to summit. 

Route: Via Mt. Belford
Posted On: 10/28/2018, By: dsjansen
Info: CR 390 to trailhead was dry and dusty. Last three miles are badly washboarded. Mostly bare dirt from trailhead to stream crossing with patchy ice. Microspikes went on at stream crossing and stayed on for rest of hike. Switchbacks to Belford were rock hard windslab in places, requiring kicking in foot holds even with spikes on. Later in day with sun softening and more traffic, trail tread became more established. Not enough snow to warrant snowshoes, which went along for a ride this hike. Knife edge drop from Belford to Oxford alternated between bare rock and deep drifts and was quite tedious and energy sapping. Col between the two peaks was mostly windswept bare ground. Very little snow heading up Oxford too. Wind was pretty insane on this part of the hike with airborne ice crystals. Had hope to hit Missouri on the way back, but Belford-Oxford took way more time and energy than anticipated. Still great to bag these two late in the season. Photos: 1. Belford switchbacks 2. Belford summit 3. Knife edge drop from Belford to Oxford 4. Knife edge drop from Belford to Oxford 5. Looking up to Oxford from col between Belford and Oxford 6. Looking back at Belford from Oxford summit 

Route: Via Mt. Belford
Posted On: 10/22/2018, By: G-regJennings
Info: The traverse to Oxford was snow blown and quite deep in some spots. Others were easily avoidable. The climb back up to Belford was difficult because the ridge has accumulated significant snow. Microspikes were necessary for the majority of the hike.