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Base Camp
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- Statistics:
- Date Hiked: May 20, 2005
- Miles Hiked: 11.1
- Elevation Gain: 6,050'
- Hiking Partner(s): Aaron Reid
- Description:
- Aaron and I picked quite a hike for our first serious trip of
2005. We had originally hoped to do a snow climb, but snowfall in
recent weeks and reports of current conditions indicated that things had
not set up quite yet. There is still a significant amount of
sluffing occurring, so we decided to play it safe. I'm fairly
certain that within the next week, the snow will be perfect for couloir
climbs. Belford denied me last November because of extremely cold
temperatures, so we decided to head back to the Missouri Gulch trailhead
and give it a shot. Aaron had not done Oxford yet, so we new it
was going to be a big day to get them both.
- We left Denver at 4:00 am and were hiking by 7:00. We utilized
the standard west slopes route to Belford and then traversed the west
ridge of Oxford. The trail was about 70 percent open, but we
experienced significant post-holing in the areas that were snow
covered. I hiked in shorts and a base layer most of the day adding
a layer above 13,000' because of a slight breeze that chilled me a
bit. Once above the old disheveled cabin, we traversed above the
trail on the east side of the basin to avoid the snow. We picked
up the trail again at the base of the west slopes of Belford before it
became steep. The trail was in generally good conditions, but was
muddy in several sections. It ended up being a 10 hour day.
- Maps:
- Click here
to view a 2D
map of the area where this hike is located.
- Photographs:
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