Mt. Belford

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 11/19/2020, By: Twigatravels
Info: Super windy! Almost got blown off the mountain, but fought against the wind. I went up the standard route to Mt. Belford and then made the traverse over to Mt. Oxford and returned via Elk Head Pass and back to the trail head. There is deep snow in sections, especially around the scrub/bushes. In the more exposed areas there is very little snow. I used poles and would highly recommend it. Would also recommend gaiters as I post holed up to my thigh in some areas (especially on the Elk Head Pass trail). Microspikes may have been useful in certain areas, but I was worried that they would go dull on the rocks. Beautiful views, but once again, super windy. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 11/2/2020, By: CaptainSuburbia
Info: Road is clear to trailhead. Route is boot packed to ridge. I didn't wear spikes, but they could be helpful. Ridge was a mix of dry and boot packed. Traction was not necessary. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 10/21/2020, By: Shiloh
Info: Did a quick run of Belford and Oxford this past weekend. As of Saturday 10/17 trail is clear of snow with the exception of one area near the top of the ridge, which can be easily avoided. High winds and cool temperatures above treeline, but that's the norm for October hiking in Colorado. Slight smell of smoke in the air, but hardly noticeable with the amount of wind. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 10/1/2020, By: Troyister
Info: Road to trail is bumpy but any vehicle can make it if you take your time. Trail is a steady uphill climb all the way to Belford summit. Strava had it at 4.1 miles. I then went to Oxford and that was a total of 5.5 miles. On the way down I turned left just before Belford and took the trail to Elkhead Pass, and followed it all the way to the trail head. It added 1.3 miles to the trip but the different views and easier down hike on the knees were well worth it. The trail is in great condition and stream crossings were all easy and dry feet. Not a cloud in the sky all day. Fall colors are good but on the back side and will get less each day. Total trip was 12.4 miles with 5700 feet of elevation gain. Didn't have the legs to add 3-3.5 miles and 1500-1600 feet of elevation gain to get Mt. Missouri also. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 9/27/2020, By: calenning
Info: Standard route is dry with very few patches of snow. Trail is in great shape. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 9/19/2020, By: thebeave7
Info: Snow still holding on the upper switchbacks causing trail rerouting and some traversing of steep snow (kicked steps across). Snow was hard and frozen overnight, but didn't need traction to get through, some people might like it though.
Steam coming off the north face has running water. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 9/14/2020, By: ellenmseb
Info: Packed snow on north-facing sections, No snow on south-facing sections. Easy climb with microspikes! Snow was frozen except for noon-4pm (forecasted high was 47F)

Road is rougher than in July, but trailhead is still accessible by 2wd. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 9/13/2020, By: lasallecrew2
Info: Slick, muddy, slushy trail below the tree line due to snow last week. Snow and snowdrifts up to 2-3ft deep cover most of the trail above the tree line. Hikers have blazed a trail to the top, but many are direct paths using steeper lines vs the less steep switchback path. At minimum, recommend microspikes for the entirety of the hike. Snowshoes are unnecessary but could help in some short sections of deeper snow if willing to carry the extra weight. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 6/25/2020, By: NickOutside
Info: Summer conditions the entire way. A few stray spots of snow in the gullies, but none on the trail. Hit the trail at 5:50. 2.5 hours to Belford, 2 hours to make it to Oxford and back, and 1 hr 45 min down to the trail head from Belford. 6:15 in total.

Saw 20-30 people on the trail despite it being a Thursday. Slept in the car and the lot was full by 5:30 am. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 6/20/2020, By: coopereitel
Info: We started at 3:50AM and went up Belford from the TH. It took us 6:13 to do Belford and Oxford. We passed tons of people on the way down and the parking was packed. We didn't end up doing Missouri just because we weren't feeling it. The only snow was the fresh stuff that covered parts of the trail and were not a problem. Later in the day there was a bit of mud but not enough to be worried about. It was pretty chilly and windy up top.

The photo is from Oxford looking at Belford. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 6/14/2020, By: Murphyomc
Info: Summer conditions and gorgeous day with low wind on the summit. Still a fair amount of cars at the trailhead at 6:30 am on Friday morning. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 6/11/2020, By: bryanonfilm
Info: Summer conditions even after the snow dump. Couple tiny snow fields. All good to Oxford as well. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 6/9/2021, By: Balancing1076
Info: Trail in summer condition from TH to the top of Oxford. Some 20' stretches of snow that was slushy and had a bit of postholing here/there. Didn't need traction at all. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 6/15/2020, By: Melinda27
Info: Couldn't believe the trail conditions! Went up and down the steep switchback trail. Creek has good logs to cross on. A few snow patches on the trail but did not bring traction and did not need! 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 5/30/2020, By: Misi197
Info: Same as report below, only adding that Oxford is similarly in summer conditions. The small sections of snow descending Bel heading to Ox are easy to navigate without traction. No need for spikes.