Mt. Belford

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 10/20/2021, By: Mark Goldstein
Info: Parking lot only had 2 vehicles. Switch backs up to water crossing/avalanche filed was clear and dry. Near old cabin, small amount of scant snow. Past split trail head sign, snow began to accumulate on the trail. Around 11,500 snow was present (approx 2-6 inches) from past weather. Sunny, moderate amount of wind up on the ridge to the summit. Temperature around 15-25 degrees. Traction (e.g. microspikes) and gators suggested above treeline. Enjoy! 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 10/17/2021, By: CTLawn
Info: Snow conditions are about the same as the last report. A little on the trail from the beginning but it starts getting deep at about 11,800 where the ridge starts. It was a slow go through the snow but waterproof shoes, gaiters, and spikes made it totally doable. Very little wind and great views! 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 10/10/2021, By: boldlyintomordor
Info: Lots of snow since last report. Went for Belford today and had to blaze trail up the mountain beyond Missouri Gulch. Snow was over a foot deep in some places. Definitely bring poles, spikes, gaiters, and waterproof shoes. My partner and I made a bad gamble with trail runners and we got turned around at around 13000' with very icy toes. Keep in mind that the trail is on the west side of Belford so is in shadow most of the morning. It is absolutely beautiful there right now, but come prepared for snow. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 10/6/2021, By: dsr80304
Info: Did Belford and Oxford on Tues 10/5. Trail is great. A few minor snow patches up to Belford, but no need for spikes. Ditto over to Oxford - one longer snow section down from Belford to Ox, but poles were plenty to help navigate. Looks like weather will hold and keep conditions like this for a few days. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 9/10/2021, By: sigepnader
Info: Trail is as dry and steep as ever. Highly recommend taking Elkhead Pass down instead of the standard route. This will add about a mile but the descent is so much more gradual. Pay close attention to the trail as you get past Missouri. It can be slightly hard to navigate by the stream very briefly. 

Route: Southwest Slopes
Posted On: 9/5/2021, By: etradio1
Info: Update from previous trip report, the trail on this route is in good condition and no longer water logged. 

Route: Southwest Slopes
Posted On: 8/5/2021, By: zahkopunk
Info: Went up Belford and Oxford yesterday. Ascent was pleasant. I actually went up the standard Northwest Ridge route. Tagging this for Southwest Slopes as that was my descent route and the one I think folks might want to know a bit about it's current state. On the way back down the trail is completely consumed by water. This is probably about a tenth of a mile from where the Northwest Ridge and Southwest Slopes routes split and lasts for about a quarter mile or so. There were certainly some folks before me who made new paths through the plant life, which was evident by the trampled plants. I stayed on the trail and did find myself knee deep at some spots. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 7/11/2021, By: longlevi823
Info: Successful summit of Mt. Belford and Mt. Oxford today. Started at 04:14 AM and completed Belford, Oxford, and back to Belford in a little less than 6 hours. Full time including getting back to car was 8 hours and 39 minutes.

Mt. Belford was a nice hike, but pretty cold and windy. I would recommend bringing gloves and a hat and some pants if starting early. I usually run hot and the cold was a lot, but mostly cause of the winds. Didn't bring gloves and only had a sun hoodie with me. I had an extra pair of wool socks I used to keep hands warm. Once coming back down from Belford the cold was no longer an issue.

Coming down the ridge of Belford I had a little tumble, lots of loose rock and dirt, but nothing terrible and just used hiking poles to keep balance. Some people were running down so not an issue for everyone.

Overall a good day. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 7/13/2021, By: 14erortho
Info: Beautiful conditions, dry up the entire route. Elkhead pass descent was worth it, but there is a single snow crossing (no postholes) still and a few places to get a touch muddy. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
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: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 6/25/2021, By: MrSmileweil
Info: Did the Belford-Oxford-Missouri loop today. Belford had a dusting of snow last night, but it was not enough to impede travel. Chances are that in a couple of days all of the new snow will have melted. Took us about 3-3.5 hours to get up Belford from trailhead and started at 3:50 am. Oxford was a bit more spicy as it was heavily iced over, but this got better as the sun came out. Ice on Oxford will probably stay a couple more days, but it just means you have to be more careful. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 6/22/2021, By: constipated_pete
Info: Hiked Belford via standard route and went over to Oxford. ~3.5 hours up Belford, just over 2 hours to Oxford and back.
Full summer conditions on Belford, one spot with snow on traverse to Oxford. Snow was fine without spikes/poles/ice axe. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 6/15/2021, By: kbnellie
Info: Summer conditions to Belford and Oxford. We took Elk Pass on the way down which still had multiple snow patches covering the trail for moderate stretches which we post holed quite a bit. Our navigation app helped us stay on the route. Snow melt creeks were flowing and had to be crossed in multiple spots before it rejoined the Missouri Gulch trail. - Kara from Wisconsin 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 6/8/2021, By: dfeezell
Info: The trail is essentially in summer conditions. There are a few short (~100 foot) stretches of snow to cross after the old log cabin but no need for traction, snowshoes, or gaiters. From there on out it's dry all the way to Oxford. 

Route: Northwest Gully
Posted On: 6/5/2021, By: jslove1
Info: Skied the NW Gully today. It's on its last leg unless you're willing to take skis off a few times and stay pretty much exclusively on skier's left double fall line. Had to take skis off for about 20ft near the top (started just below the summit block). Still got in a few turns between the bony sections, so can't complain.