Mt. Belford

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 6/21/2018, By: DavidEStaunton
Info: Trail between Belford and Oxford is dry. I descended via Pecks Peak, so I don't know about conditions up Belford. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 6/19/2018, By: nomanslandCO
Info: Perfect summer conditions. CFI was on the trail doing us all a favor with trail maintenance. Windy in the last 1,500 ft of the hike, 15-25 mph. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 6/4/2018, By: chrislwillers
Info: Looks like it snowed some last night. Trail was completely dry to about 13,600, then a little touch of snow on the trail, but nothing requiring spikes. There is one large snowfield right at 14,000 or so that one of the first of the day tried to cross and went about waist deep. It can be avoided by hopping on some talus to the right. Gorgeous weather today. We just took it a little too slowly to hit Oxford also, but it didn't look troublesome from Belford's summit block. Total of 11 people on the mountain today including my buddy and myself. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 5/28/2018, By: 13erRetriever
Info: Trail is completely free of snow up to the summit and across to Oxford. We camped at 11,500 without mud. We descended Elkhead pass and had to pass through (read: posthole) several snowfields late in the day and lost the trail at several points, but nothing worth bringing floatation for. Pictures attached, including views of Missouri. Go and get it! 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 4/29/2018, By: ma1919
Info: You'll do better with flotation between the creek crossing at about 10,800' and the Belford-Elkhead Pass Trail split. It's not absolutely necessary, but expect slow going and lots of knee-thigh deep postholing without. There's zero need or use for flotation once you start ascending the ridge, so stash them before then.

Traction was nice to have in spots but not really necessary today. If you're going in the next few days though, I'd recommend microspikes (anything more is probably overkill). Even though a lot of the new snow from last night blew away or melted, there will probably be enough to refreeze and cause slippery conditions for a day or two.

I did not do the traverse to Oxford, but it looked mostly snow-free (thanks to the nasty winds today). Might be some hard-packed stuff between the rocks though like there is on the upper part of the Belford NW ridge.

With how warm it is up there right now though (60 at the trailhead in the afternoon), a couple of days will probably change your experience drastically.

The photos show Missouri's eastern side from Belford and a view of Belford from the trail split in the morning. There was noticeably less snow on Belford on the way down. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 4/28/2018, By: dippold6
Info: No traction necessary from truck to summit. There was plenty of patchy snow, but kick steps seemed good enough everywhere I was concerned with slipping. Some post holing in spots on the way back after getting off the ridge between the ridge and tree line, but not long enough to need shoes. Great day. Windy enough up top to need to layer up while up there, but pleasant enough to hang out for a bit. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 4/19/2018, By: halite
Info: First switchbacks past the cemetery have a layer of ice underneath which becomes slick when temps warm. Continuous snow (skinnable) from about 10500 or just before the rise to cabins. From there trail was buried . Snowshoes not necessary. Spikes and poles very helpful up the final steep switchbacks to the summit which contained a mix of 3-5 of windblown snow with a hard pack layer underneath. East face of Belford looks to be in the best shape for skiing right now with nice coverage from summit to treeline however snow quality is definitely variable. At the TH talked to a skier who booted the North Couloir for some turns and said the snow conditions were stable but sub-par. Lots of wet slide activity on Missouri's north bowls. 

Route: NW Couloir
Posted On: 4/17/2018, By: JulianSmith
Info: The northwest couloir can be skied now, but should it be skied? You make the call on that.
The snow does not connect from the summit down to the couloir. First downclimb about 10' or so to get off the rocks of the summit block. Then you can carefully ski/work your way across the summit ridge, through some rocks and shallow, snowy spots until you will run out of snow entirely and must boot pack a short distance through rocks to get down into the couloir proper. Don't want to thrash around with all this foolishness? I don't blame you; maybe just ski the couloir and don't fuss with the summit.
Anyway, the couloir is challenging and seems to throw it all at you; i.e. powder, hard packed, icy snow, breakable crust, etc… There is even the odd piece of rock and some dusty snow in there too. Sometimes the couloir changes from side to side, but it seems the best skiing is more on the west side; defiantly the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde experience.
If you decide to climb the entire couloir, you are going to want some crampons and a whippet or an ice axe.
Oh yeah, you are going to want running shoes for the 1st mile or so of trail, but you already knew that; enjoy! 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 3/25/2018, By: WildWanderer
Info: Snowshoes recommended before cabin, necessary after the cabin until about halfway up Belford. Broke a pretty deep trail today postholing but it will likely be gone with the next snow. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 3/17/2018, By: AnnaG22
Info: Missouri Gulch is super dry. We left the snowshoes in the car and were fine without them. Brought microspikes but did not use them.
Large sections of the standard route are either dry or well-packed.
Though we opted not to head over to Oxford, the traverse looks almost totally free of snow. Missouri's north face actually looked pretty nice for skiing, but given the snow year, one would a) want to dig pits and b) need to be okay with boot packing 3ish miles in and a large chunk of the way out. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 2/5/2018, By: JQDivide
Info: Photo only: There is snow coming this week, but here's shot of Belford and the valley from Missouri on Sunday. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 1/19/2018, By: LoveThisSite
Info: Took a day off work to get my climbing fix. Absolutely gorgeous day, literally no wind until the summit block. Felt like late spring/early summer in the afternoon. Microspikes are essential to cross a couple of snowfields on the ridge. Solid boot track in the trees. Traverse to Oxford mostly dry.
The couloir (which starts at the base of the NW Ridge) looked to be in prime condition as well - firm packed snow, perfect for crampons. I was the only person, as far as I know, in the entire basin all day. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 1/17/2018, By: JasonCrane
Info: After retreating from Missouri Mtn. during Friday's (1/12) storm, returned to Missouri Gulch yesterday (1/16) & summited Mt. Belford. CR 390 is still generally passable with isolated patches of snow & ice. On the trail at 6:30am with nice trench up to tree-line. Wore traction all along NW Ridge until sharp turn @ 13,900 ft. Ridge has a decent amount of ice & was slick at times. Entire route is mostly visible up to summit. Beautiful day! Minimal wind & clear skies. Missouri Mountain still has dense snow coverage.. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 1/14/2018, By: RyGuy
Info: You currently can drive to the Missouri Gulch TH with a decent AWD. Snow covered road, but take it easy and you will be fine. From the TH, there is a decent boot pack all the way to the start of the switchbacks at roughly 12,000 feet. Doable without snowshoes from TH to summit. Microspikes highly recommended as there are quite a few sections with ice to treeline, and some fairly bulletproof snow on the switchbacks that you will really want traction. By the time you reach 13,900, not too much snow. The upper flanks of the mountain are fairly scoured. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 1/16/2018, By: Santanoni
Info: Think I had the advantage of being the last person up Sunday. Trail was wonderfully packed all the way to junction thanks to others; hard enough not to sink in boots but soft enough not to be icy/slippery so I did not need traction up to that point. I put on spikes for the mid to upper part of NW ridge where the switchbacks had pretty hard icy snow. Still, the trail was mostly visible all the way up and it was quick going. The descent was similar, very fast from the junction down where snow covered the rocks and made for good boot sliding.