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Mount BelfordJune 22, 2000 - Northwest FlankThe trip to Belford was as round a trip as one could imagine, via Snowmass. Unfortunately, that did not mean Snowmass Peak but the parking lot at the Snowmass trailhead. I had planned to do the long walk in but got a late start from Cheyenne and by the time I arrived in the late afternoon, I was just not enthusiastic about the approach. It was one of those times when you get to the lot, the drive was too damn far, and your motivation level has dropped to zero. Mine was right there, at zero. I mulled over the 8-mile walk with a heavy pack, shook my head and headed for Leadville. I wasn’t beat but just settled for camping that night at the head of the Clear Creek reservoir and planning to climb Mount Belford the next morning. My wife and I had been up into the basin below Belford and Missouri before and what I always think of before doing one of these peaks is the set of switchbacks that lead from the parking area to the hanging valley above. Back and forth and back and forth, then finally you top out and start heading up the valley. I crossed the creek, climbed a much tamer set of switchbacks and then arrived at the old cabin near tree line. From there, I headed further up the valley and took the clearly marked cutoff for the trail up to Belford. The trail leads to another set of switchbacks and then winds its way up the flank of the peak to the crest above. Unfortunately, the crest is just that, a crest and not a summit. I walked on and did the quick scramble to reach the summit proper of Belford. Belford is another two for one deal if the weather is cooperating. I looked around and saw clouds building quickly – thunderstorm. Having successfully played the odds in the San Juans, I took the lesson to heart and accepted the summit of Belford as a victory and the summit of Oxford as another trip . . . on another day.
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