Ascent of Mount Belford on 2020-10-09| Other People: | Solo Ascent
| | Date: | Friday, October 9, 2020 | | Ascent Type: | Successful Summit Attained | | Motorized Transport to Trailhead: | 4x4 Vehicle | | Peak: | Mount Belford | | Location: | USA-Colorado | | Elevation: | 14197 ft / 4327 m |
Ascent Trip ReportThis was a pretty big hike. 14ers.com calls it 11 miles and 5800 feet. I tracked it at 10.56 miles and 5674 feet. Just shy of 7 hours to complete it. So, big picture not a huge hike, but I think mentally I had myself thinking it was going to be a stroll - especially since I'd been up Belford once before. I wasn't pushing myself at quite my normal pace. I knew I had a good amount of vert on the day, so I tried to keep the pace a bit more steady. I got a whiff of smoke in the basin below - not long after I saw a grouping of 4 large green Coleman tents. Passed a group of big dudes on the Northwest slopes up Belford who were huffing and didn't have typical mountain climbing clothes. Made connection to the tents but not the smoke. Later I met two ladies on Oxford who said they had passed those guys at their camp that morning and they had a raging fire going - even though there's a state-wide fire ban and the entire western US is being ravaged by fires. Then I made the connection to the brief whiff of smoke I caught that morning. Just sad and so god damn irresponsible that there are people like this. I guess there's a chance they really didn't know because they were from out of state, but how could you not know after the fires have been in the news all summer? I wish the world had fewer stupid people.
Anyway, the air quality was good otherwise; when I'd smelled the smoke I briefly worried it might be a problem for the whole hike. It was reasonably warm - very warm for an October climb. Sunny, and no wind except it picked up slightly on my way back from Oxford and over Belford again. Felt great to redeem myself and get Oxford checked off after I failed to get both 4 years ago. Oxford was #39 and I think I'll be able to hit 40 before the season is out - should have time for at least one more October climb. The ladies I met on Oxford were great. They lived in Edwards. Stopped and chatted with them again on the resummit of Belford. They said they had passed the guy who wrote sleeping on the summits. I'd heard of the book but didn't know the author, but it got me thinking...did this guy introduce/announce himself as the author? He absolutely did. Even if the ladies knew him by name, they wouldn't make the connection by him saying, "Hi, my name is Jon." And you don't introduce yourself with your last name on mountains. Anyway, turns out I had also passed this guy and his buddy as I was reclimbing Belford and the only thing that struck me is that they didn't really yield to the "uphill has the right of way" rule and kind of closely brushed passed me as I was struggling uphill. So my conclusion is that Jon Kedrowski is a jerk and a loser.
Start: 7:55am
Belford/Elkhead Junction: 9:00am
Summit Belford: 10:31am
Depart Belford: 10:40am
Summit Oxford: 11:27am
Depart Oxford: 11:46am
Resummit Belford: 12:43pm
Depart Belford: 12:48pm
Belford/Elkhead Junction: 1:55pm
Finish: 2:53pm |
| Summary Total Data | | Total Elevation Gain: | 5674 ft / 1729 m | | Total Elevation Loss: | 5674 ft / 1728 m | | Round-Trip Distance: | 10.6 mi / 17 km | | Route Conditions: | Maintained Trail | | Gear Used: | Ski Poles | | Weather: | Pleasant, Calm, Clear
Great day, sunny skies, only a little bit of wind on the hike back from Oxford | | Ascent Statistics | | Gain on way in: | 5674 ft / 1729 m | | Gain Breakdown: | Net: 4547 ft / 1386 m; Extra: 1127 ft / 343m | | Loss on way in: | 1127 ft / 343 m | | Distance: | 5.3 mi / 8.5 km | | Route: | Northwest Ridge | | Start Trailhead: | Missouri Gulch Trailhead 9650 ft / 2941 m | | Descent Statistics | | Loss on way out: | 4547 ft / 1385 m | | Distance: | 5.3 mi / 8.5 km | | Route: | Northwest Ridge | | End Trailhead: | Missouri Gulch Trailhead 9650 ft / 2941 m | Ascent Part of Trip: Belford-Oxford
Complete Trip Sequence:
Total Trip Gain: 5674 ft / 1729 m Total Trip Loss: 5674 ft / 1729 m | GPS Data for Ascent/Trip
 GPS Waypoints - Hover or click to see name and lat/long
Peaks:  climbed and  unclimbed by Bo Saunders
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