Mt. Belford & Mt. Oxford

After another long night of work, I printed off more NatGeo maps and tied up the loose ends of the pack. David got Cliff Bars and fresh fruit from King Soopers earlier so we would be ready to hit the road when 4 AM came the next morning. We set off in the trusty CR-V for Missouri Gulch, via I-70 and CO-91. We hauled stopping only at the "Kum-and-Go" in Idaho Springs for Pretzels and Coffee, and then once again when I missed the exit for Leadville at Copper Mountain, which was a mistake because you can't turn around until that rest-stop 5 or 10 miles past Copper, adding 15 or so minutes onto the trip...ahh I'm an idiot. Soundtrack: well the soundtrack for the trip was mixed, but mostly KBCO on Iheartradio. 

The road to the TH was clear, dry and easy 2WD and no issue whatsoever. We arrived at the trailhead around 6:40AM and proceeded to use the facilities and strap on the packs. Hit the trail right at 6:45. We were extremely discouraged at how the route immediately starts by descending to the bridge, because after all, every step down is one more you have to eventually go back up. Ha. Only a poetic reflection on the day ahead. 

Below treeline was uneventful until a series of stream crossings in the vicinity of 11,000'. Those were fun and easy with a little concentration. Shortly after we reached the old shack that was populated with tents, and shortly after that we found ourselves at the trail junction looking back down into the beautiful valley.

And so the incline begins. We tackled the ridge head on and kept a good pace through the switchbacks. We passed the CFI group working on the ridge, thankful for their work! With intermittent stops and breaks we finally reached the flat area towards the top and with the summit just a ways to go, we trucked on in. The summit was well attended and we ran into some pretty fun people, most of which participated in the traverse to Oxford.  

Descending the ridge took a touch of concentration, all the while trying to push out of your mind the fact that you'll be headed back up this ridge on the 8th mile of the day. 


David exercising mountaineering rule #1: never pee uphill...

But anyway, we hiked up the gentle Oxford slope towards what we called "The Butt" (see pic below) and were on top of Oxford under an hour.

We stayed long enough to polish off the fruit and some sandwiches and then began the low-anticipated hike to Belford. It was one of those things where it wasn't a hard ascent by any means, but after the 8th or so mile of the day, you just would rather be going down-hill. We finally were back on top of Belford, and stopping just briefly to soak up the views of an awesome basin we were finally headed down. 

Nothing special headed down, except when I got sloppy and lazily postholed into the little bit of snow on the trail and bottomed into a puddle of ankle-high mud. Fun. But the weather was too great to get down about that and kept going down to the car. We pondered many of life's great questions, most important of which was what sound do marmots make? We were stumped and decided that they don't make noises, but if they did it would be a Pokemon-like "marmot! marmot!" noise. We ended up solving world hunger and global warming by the time we reached the TH. 

All in all a great hike, great weather and some Colorado fun! Back down in Morrison for some Willy's Wings for dinner by 6. 

Date: June 28, 2011

Elevation: 14, 197'

Range: Sawatch Range

Location: 20 miles Southwest of Leadville

Climbed With: David (Brother) and Damon (Friend)

Conditions: Sunny, windy, afternoon clouds, no precipitation 

Trailhead: Missouri Gulch

Route: Northwest Ridge (Class 2)

Round Trip: 11.0 miles

Elevation Gain: 5800'

Timeline: Denver: 4:00AM

                Trailhead: 6:45AM

                Summit (Belford): 10:00AM

                Summit (Oxford): 11:30 AM

                Trailhead: 3:00 PM                

Pictures:

Mt. Shavano

Welcome from 14ers.com! I haven't blogged before and I rarely do trip reports. Let me know what you think... Just a little journal action first, but there are just some stats and pics toward the bottom if that's what you're looking for. Hope its okay let me know how to improve!

As this is my first blog, a little about me. My name is Dan. I am 19, from Littleton, CO and a chemistry major Gonzaga University. This was my 15th 14er. Here it goes...

After getting off work late last night (11:30PM) (smh restaurants), I came home threw my pack together (I was impressed that I did not forget anything major, but could have used some chapstick...) and hit the hay. Oh and by the way, I bought a 3" knife that I luckily didn't have to use, and a sweet $11 compass from REI on Monday. I bring this up because the compass included 5 free NatGeo TopoMaps which are pretty awesome and I would recommend. But so I got all my gear and we left Denver right around 5. After quite an uneventful drive (soundtrack: O.A.R. (live)), we arrived at the TH at 7:45 and headed out soon after. We just so happened to find the Pearl-White Subaru pow-wow.

Being away from the Colorado outdoors for apprx. 8 months, it was really good to be welcomed back by this view right off the TH.

Not much going on below tree-line...it was a steady incline with some stream-crossings. Until right around tree-line there is no snow to contend with, but nothing too major and there is good foot pack through. Then we came across the slopes above tree-line to the saddle. It was really windy and all members of the party weren't quite in the best shape. 

And then it got a bit weird...Tim and Shannon told me to go for the summit while they stayed at the saddle. Normally, I don't think separating is ever a good idea. However, given the circumstances (decent weather, heavy traffic on the peaks, and visibility from the saddle to high up the summit), I decided to go for it. 

There was also cell phone reception at the summit and I called the others from the top. 

And then I screwed up. I saw Tabby so tantalizingly close and moseyed my way across the ridge toward it. I saw hikers on the summit and kept an eye on them. I ended up at the saddle between Shavano and Tabby, but with everyone coming off of Tabby, I had to turn myself around. 

Tough pill to swallow, Tabby straight ahead

It was the right decision, but should have been made much, much earlier. It took a taxing amount of calories to regain Shavano, not to mention the time it took while the others remained on the cold, windy saddle. Coming off the peak back and heading back toward the group I was tired (mentally/physically) and I somehow mistook the saddle between Shavano and the peak directly west of Shavano for the saddle between Shavano and Esprit Point. It was not a big deal and I realized my mistake fairly early (embarrassing nonetheless, sheesh!) but just took even more time rejoining the rest of the group.

Anyway, from there the descent until the snow/trees was very windy and whatnot, but once back in the woods not much else to report. Some really nice views in the late afternoon approaching the TH. And finally after a long day, back to the car. Killer tan lines (forgot sunscreen on my legs) and Sanuks (God's gift to mankind). (Too much parenthetical. Will cut down next time.)

Thanks for reading!

Side notes: 

Saw an opportunity for camping here at this spot, maybe for a redemption trip! 

And also, saw this tree on the way out. Our best guesses were either some sort of ropes or bindings? Or infection. We were leaning toward infection. Maybe someone knows?

Misc. Pics.

From the Summit

From the Summit

From the Summit

From the Summit

Date: June 12, 2011

Elevation: 14, 229'

Range: Sawatch Range

Location: 15 miles Northwest of Salida

Climbed With: Tim (Brother) Shannon (Sister-in-Law) Maggie (Tim&Shannon's dog)

Conditions: Sunny, windy, afternoon clouds, no precipitation 

Trailhead: Blank Gulch

Route: East Slopes (Class 2)

Round Trip: 9.25 miles

Elevation Gain: 4600'

Timeline: Denver: 5:00AM

                Trailhead: 7:45AM

                Summit: 1:20PM

                Trailhead: 5:00PM(ish)

Pictures:

Summit Shot