Mt. Belford

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 1/8/2018, By: Eagle Eye
Info: Nice trip up Mt Belford and Mt Oxford yesterday, I carried but stashed snowshoes, instead wore microspikes the whole day. There is snow in the gulch past the cabin but not enough to need snowshoes. Maybe one heads up is that the routes' creek crossing junction at 10,800 isn't very distinct (and on the other side of an ice sheet) and a more worn path just continues straight along the creek in the snow. The ridge from Mt Belford down to the Belford-Oxford saddle had a lot of powder packed into it and made for slow going. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 1/8/2018, By: DavidEStaunton
Info: Chaffee County Road 390 has a large amount of snow on some sections, very well packed snow. Be careful! I almost had an accident coming back!
There is snow on much of the trail leading to Belford's base. On the actual mountain
packed snow covers more than half of the rest of the route. On the traverse to Oxford , there is a small amount of snow. If you are looking to do this trip, take micro spikes and an ice ax. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 12/23/2017, By: Vimana Aircraft
Info: Low snow amounts, so no floatation was brought or needed! There were two parties on it yesterday, myself and a group of two guys, so there is a decent trail broken up Missouri Gulch!! High winds up there, Harvard looked incredible and super nasty from Belford's summit!!!!! 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 12/19/2017, By: dippold6
Info: Packed snow on the trail. Tops of my boots never saw snow until I got out of the woods. Then only once in a while. Above tree line it's pretty much the same as other conditions reports in this area. Mix of packed snow, ice, and nothing. Spikes the whole way, nothing else used. Looking over at Missouri, trail is good past the split. Looks to be more snow up the face to the ridge than anywhere I saw on Belford. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 12/3/2017, By: MichaelWG
Info: (This goes for both Belford and Oxford)

Road to the trailhead had about 2-3 miles of thin, icy, hard-packed snow. Gave me a bit of pause on the drive in Friday night, but my 2012 Forester didn't lose traction at any point. Parking lot is covered in a few inches of snow.

The trail is covered in a pretty much perfect layer of nicely packed snow up to a bit past the junction with Elkhead Pass. I put my spikes on in the parking lot and would say that's a good move. Once you're "on" Belford and the trail starts getting steep there are some switchbacks that have been getting enough sun to put the snow through the freeze-thaw cycle, so it's pretty icy. There are a couple of steep snowy slopes to traverse where poles will come in handy. The summit of Belford (i.e. the rocky tower at the top) is completely dry.

The traverse over to Oxford is in fine condition. Getting up to Oxford is a cake walk, getting back up to Belford it's a little snowy, but nothing treacherous.

It was pretty darn windy everywhere above treeline and especially on the summit(s). Probably consistently 20mph most of the time with some strong gusts that forced me to brace myself with my poles.

Overall, it was a "safe" day to hike the two, but could be miserable if you don't have the right layers. Also, getting down Belford on the icy rock steps was pretty miserable. I fell on my ass at 4 times, and can say that at least 2 of those times I was being as careful with my foot placement as humanly possible - it's just an awkward mix of icy, gravely rock in a lot of spots. Poles come in handy here. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 11/26/2017, By: mikefromcraig
Info: Trail is extremely packed in. No gaiters or flotation is needed; not even close. Microspikes are necessary on the entire decent as there are a lot of deceptive ice patches. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 11/26/2017, By: trailboss88
Info: trailhead is accessible by car, 4x4 or awd recommended. Trail has abut 75% snow cover. Brought snowshoes and crampons but never needed them, just mountaineering boots. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 11/19/2017, By: IFoundItUnderThere
Info: Snow....
2-4" for first mile, becomes heavier towards treeline with about 6", and above treeline (where it isn't wind blown) it is about 8" + banks...
Base and rocks is slick/icy under the fresh snow...
Last 100' and connector to Oxford is mostly clear... 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 11/13/2017, By: Giant hills
Info: Easy to follow boot pack through tree line. No traction needed. Please remember to turn left at the creek crossing. Theres a lot of prints going straight and I did do that on a previous trip and caused a 45min inconvenience lol. Basin pretty much dry with a few patches of snow no more than a few inches. Ridge is same situation pretty much all dry except for patches. Micro spikes and poles for sure help a lot. Oxford is all dry except for the portion of the ridge closest to Belford where there's the same kind snow patches described previous. Other than that Great hike,view and was windy. Just give yourself time it's a long day out there it took about 11hours round trip 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 11/10/2017, By: khavos
Info: Gorgeous day out on Belford and Oxford today, despite some decent wind. Microspikes are good the whole way up, no snowshoes necessary. Used gaiters, not mandatory. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 10/30/2017, By: JonHandshake
Info: Temperature: Surprisingly warm until about 13,500'. It was cold and windy at the top, but nothing like what I experienced in the Mosquito Range a couple of weeks ago.

Terrain: Manageable without traction, for the most part - but you should definitely bring micro-spikes. I did not use mine, but I probably could/should have at a few points.

Crossing the stream: This was a bit dicey since there was so much slippery ice that could not bear much weight and broke as soon as you put your foot on it. Use your trekking poles to test the ice before putting your foot down on it. We found a sturdy crossing further downstream from what's recommended here.

Summit: Cold and windy, but not too bad. Lots of fog. Limited visibility. I ran into a couple of hikers who turned around at 13,000 because the fog limited their visibility beyond their acceptable margin of risk, but it must have cleared by the time I got there because it wasn't too bad.

Snow & ice: You're walking on dirt and rock for most of the beginning, but once you get above tree-line you're going to encounter pockets of hard-packed snow and ice, and there are also areas with soft, powdery snow that's knee-deep. I brought trekking poles, micro-spikes, and snow shoes, but never used any of them. My partner used trekking poles most of the way.

Incline: 4,500' of elevation gain in 4 miles is no joke! Be prepared for lots of switchbacks and a nice quad workout. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 10/22/2017, By: Dose
Info: Summited Belford and Oxford. Very windy. Route is in good condition. Trail has persistent snow from about 10.5K to summit. Microspikes highly recommended. No flotation is needed. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 10/22/2017, By: adammoreau1
Info: Minimal snow until the junction where you turn off for Belford. There is a good trail stomped out in the snow all the way to the top, but expect to be postholling on and off during the steep section after the junction. I made it up without microspikes, but I would highly recommend them. Crampons are overkill for current conditions. 

Route: Belford to Oxford
Posted On: 9/30/2017, By: Thevirtualsherpa
Info: Winter is arriving on Mt Belford and Mt Oxford. About 2-4 inches of snow across mountain, deeper in wind blown spots. Traction (spikes/crampons) borderline necessary, especially on way down. Ridge trail was very easy to follow, even with snow. Hope you like stairs because this route is essentially 11 miles straight of them. 

Route: Elkhead pass
Posted On: 10/2/2017, By: zerosignal28
Info: we took the Elkhead pass route on the way up to summit Oxford first, then down the standard route off of Belford. A decent amount of snow from Elkhead slowed us a down a bit, but there is actually a lot more snow on the standard route of Belford. Didn't need traction on the way up. Lots of traffic up there over the weekend, so the trail will be easy to follow but it will probably ice over quickly. Microspikes and poles will make your day much more enjoyable.