Mt. Belford Trip Report 07/02/2008

Peak(s):	Mt. Belford - 14,202 feet Mt. Oxford - 14,158 feet
Date Posted:	07/02/2008
Date Climbed:	07/02/2008
Author:	anthonylebaron

Belford/Oxford- Standard Route
Started at the Missouri Gulch trailhead at about 5 AM. We headed up the trail through the woods, and I was impressed at the speed I was making. We made it up 1500 ft in the first hour, which is much quicker than I climbed 2 weeks ago when I started my quest to climb the 14ers. As the air thinned, we naturally slowed down. There was hardly any snow to contend with on the way up the standard route. After a 9:30 summit of Belford, we drank water and ate some food then headed down to the ridge to Oxford. There was no snow at all on the ridge or either summit. Almost an hour later, about 200 ft below the summit of Oxford, I ran out of energy. I stumbled to the summit and reflected upon the importance of proper conditioning. Here I am with the survey marker on Oxford: Since I was at this point utterly depleted of energy, climbing the ~600 ft up the ridge BACK to the summit of Belford was awful, and made no more fun by the dark cloud looming overhead. We went back down on the Elkhead Pass trail because it was less steep and agreed that our knees would be happier this way. There were a few snowfields to contend with which we passed without incident. However, a couple creek crossings were difficult and resulted in wet feet...if you return this way, make sure your boots are good and waterproof or you will return to the trailhead with wet feet. This was my toughest day yet...5900 feet of elevation gain. I know it goes without saying, but start early! It's a long day...9.5 hours start to finish. Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

Belford/Oxford- Standard Route

Started at the Missouri Gulch trailhead at about 5 AM. We headed up the trail through the woods, and I was impressed at the speed I was making. We made it up 1500 ft in the first hour, which is much quicker than I climbed 2 weeks ago when I started my quest to climb the 14ers. As the air thinned, we naturally slowed down.

There was hardly any snow to contend with on the way up the standard route. After a 9:30 summit of Belford, we drank water and ate some food then headed down to the ridge to Oxford.

There was no snow at all on the ridge or either summit. Almost an hour later, about 200 ft below the summit of Oxford, I ran out of energy. I stumbled to the summit and reflected upon the importance of proper conditioning.

Here I am with the survey marker on Oxford:

Since I was at this point utterly depleted of energy, climbing the ~600 ft up the ridge BACK to the summit of Belford was awful, and made no more fun by the dark cloud looming overhead.

We went back down on the Elkhead Pass trail because it was less steep and agreed that our knees would be happier this way. There were a few snowfields to contend with which we passed without incident. However, a couple creek crossings were difficult and resulted in wet feet...if you return this way, make sure your boots are good and waterproof or you will return to the trailhead with wet feet.

This was my toughest day yet...5900 feet of elevation gain. I know it goes without saying, but start early! It's a long day...9.5 hours start to finish.

Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

Comments or Questions

drodriguez

Great Beta
7/6/2008 2:25pm

Thanks for posting your trip report. I‘m taking a group of Varsity Scouts up these peaks later this week, and was wondering about how much snow/water was left up there.

How long did it take you from the the TH to reach the cabin? Is it still buried?

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