Download Agreement, Release, and Acknowledgement of Risk:
You (the person requesting this file download) fully understand mountain climbing ("Activity") involves risks and dangers of serious bodily injury, including permanent disability, paralysis, and death ("Risks") and you fully accept and assume all such risks and all responsibility for losses, costs, and damages you incur as a result of your participation in this Activity.
You acknowledge that information in the file you have chosen to download may not be accurate and may contain errors. You agree to assume all risks when using this information and agree to release and discharge 14ers.com, 14ers Inc. and the author(s) of such information (collectively, the "Released Parties").
You hereby discharge the Released Parties from all damages, actions, claims and liabilities of any nature, specifically including, but not limited to, damages, actions, claims and liabilities arising from or related to the negligence of the Released Parties. You further agree to indemnify, hold harmless and defend 14ers.com, 14ers Inc. and each of the other Released Parties from and against any loss, damage, liability and expense, including costs and attorney fees, incurred by 14ers.com, 14ers Inc. or any of the other Released Parties as a result of you using information provided on the 14ers.com or 14ers Inc. websites.
You have read this agreement, fully understand its terms and intend it to be a complete and unconditional release of all liability to the greatest extent allowed by law and agree that if any portion of this agreement is held to be invalid the balance, notwithstanding, shall continue in full force and effect.
By clicking "OK" you agree to these terms. If you DO NOT agree, click "Cancel"...
Wednesday September 9 was the first day of our four day "Fourteeners in September" journey. We had traveled to the Leadville Hostel from a variety of locales including Sugar Land, TX; Saranac Lake, NY; Little Rock, AR; Houston, TX; Prairie Village, KS; Placitas, NM and Colorado Springs, CO for our adventure.
There were 9 of us on this first day including Mike T.(CO), Mike D. (TX), Stu (NY), Greg (KS), Tim (AR), Gene (NM), Evan (TX), Blake (??), and myself (TX). Blake, trail name of "Deluxe", was a new friend who we had met the night before at the Leadville Hostel. Blake is on a Colorado Trail journey and was spending a few nights at the Hostel. The plan was to hike/climb for four consecutive days and summit from 4 to 6 new Fourteeners.
We departed the Missouri Gulch Trailhead at 7:30 AM, should have left at least an hour earlier, and summitted Belford at around 11:30 AM. Greg, Stu and I continued on to Oxford and, after getting off the trail slightly, made it as far as the saddle and ready for the climb up to Oxford. At that point we decided to head back due to extremely dark clouds coming in from the west. As described in the route description for the B/O combination, the climb back towards Belford is steep!
For the return trip we decided to come back via the Elkhead Pass trail knowing it would be a little longer but a somewhat more gentle grade. We got pelted pretty good with some wind and light hail on the way back but nothing to bad. Once the snow ended the sun came out and it was very warm on the way back.
By 4:00 PM everyone was back at the trailhead for a few cold ones and then we headed to our home base at the Leadville Hostel to fuel up and rest up for Thursday's attempt on Yale.
Thanks for sharing the report with me. Got it through Evan. Looking forward to reading the other two.
Kelly and I did the Belford-Oxford-Belford combo in August the day before the Leadville 100M and we had awesome weather.
We did start earlier than you guys though!!
Nice job bagging number 15. Thanks for the report and pictures. I hope the rest of your trip was successful.
Caution: The information contained in this report may not be accurate and should not be the only resource used in preparation for your climb. Failure to have the necessary experience, physical conditioning, supplies or equipment can result in injury or death. 14ers.com and the author(s) of this report provide no warranties, either express or implied, that the information provided is accurate or reliable. By using the information provided, you agree to indemnify and hold harmless 14ers.com and the report author(s) with respect to any claims and demands against them, including any attorney fees and expenses. Please read the 14ers.com Safety and Disclaimer pages for more information.
Please respect private property: 14ers.com supports the rights of private landowners to determine how and by whom their land will be used. In Colorado, it is your responsibility to determine if land is private and to obtain the appropriate permission before entering the property.
