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With Harvard and Missouri now behind us we set our sights on the Belford/Oxford combo. It was to be our third attempt as in 2008 we were turned back by a snow and ice storm with fierce winds. In 2009 we made Belford only to be turned back on the Oxford saddle by incoming thunderstorms. In 2011 we were not to be denied.
We had camped the night before near treeline and were on the trail, headed to Belford by 8 AM. A snowfall during the night had left both mountains covered with snow, a beautiful sight. Early on we hooked up with John, a fellow Texan with a home in Vail, who provided great company. We hit the summit of Belford by around 10:00 AM and finally got our summit of Oxford by 11:00 AM. There was to be no denial of the Oxford summit this year!
We were back at camp by around 3:30 PM where we packed things up, hiked back to the Missouri Gulch Trailhead on headed back to the Leadville Hostel. Dinner, for the second night in a row, was at the Tennessee Pass Cafe. Just as good as the previous night!
Mt. Sherman was on tap for Saturday, our fifth Fourteener in four days.
Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):
Glad to see you guys get both summits. I was just looking at pictures from that ”Belford blizzard” day 3 years ago when my wife and I met you. I got Belford's summit later that fall, but still need to get over to Oxford.
The trip over to Oxford is fairly uneventful but coming back is a bit harder. There is no way we were going to not make it this year. Starting the climb a treeline helped as well.
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