"We weren't sure how we'd do at 14k, so we started super early in the morning and made our way to Mount Belford via the NW ridge, then traversed over to Mount Oxford. We weren't very fast, but we made it. Instead of descending back down the steep ridge, we opted to descend the more gradual, but longer route to Elkhead Pass. Once past the pass, we had a discussion about Missouri Mountain. That was the next day's agenda, but neither of us were anxious to do the approach again. It was only another 1500 or so feet of gain...why not?! We did it (extremely slowly) and were the last people off of the mountain today. Luckily, we had perfect weather all day long. We saw a lone mountain goat on our way up Belford, which became our spirit animal for the day." — Kevin • Sep 4, 2020

"Started from the Missouri Gulch Trail Head at approximately 0730. Temperatures where in the high 20's to low 30's. Above tree line there was a dusting of snow and ice making rocks slippery. I donned my old school 1940s circa crampons and continued climbing. Skies where full of clouds but ferry little precipitation through out the day. The snow that did fly was painful as winds where out of the west at about 70MPH. Aside from all that it was a good day completing two 14ers in 8hrs round trip. " — jouv236 • Oct 7, 2018

"Backpacked to the campsites above the switchbacks the night before. It rained a little af night but nothing too bad, our fear was still dry. We thought it would be semi-easy since it was only around 2.5-3 miles to summit, but it took about 3.5 hours. This mountain is STEEP for those last few miles. Too tired and the weather was getting too unpredictable to try Oxford. We descended via Elkhead Pass and it was gorgeous. Definitely worth the extra mile, and way easier on the knees. " — kacyulam • Jul 23, 2018

"We set out to bag both Belford and Oxford but with our slow pace and dark clouds/rain/thunder we decided to skip Oxford. Of course the day turned off nice after the sprinkles and snow flurries. The sun popped out enough to treat us to a rainbow across the green valley below us. Saw three rock ptarmigans on our way up, one was trying to gather her 4 chicks that were bouncing around trying get away from us. Because of the reported tricky water crossings I decided to go with the vibram beasts instead of the usual trail runners. The crossings were not tricky and I want my sneaks back, water crossings or not." — Nimblefoot • Jul 13, 2017

"Mountain 1 of 4 for the day and my 16th fourteener this year. I met a guy named Michael at the summit of my second climb up Mount Elbert earlier this season. He told me he was moving to Colorado soon and wanted to do some more climbs. We exchanged information and sure enough when he got here a few days ago he hit me up wanting to know when I would be climbing again. We invited him along to this climb and he turned out to be an amazing climbing companion. I suspect this to be the first of many that he will join us on.The road on the way up was one of the roughest of any that we have experienced in the Swatch range. There were sections with a ridiculous amount of potholes, and one section in particular that I would be very wary of taking a 2wd car up as I have done with most of the others. It was snowing on and off through most of the day. The clouds were fleeting and would give way to clear skies. It would quickly heat up and we frequently would have to stop and take off our jackets. The leaves on all the tress and plants are beginning to turn and it is obvious that winter conditions are not far away. Next we continued on to Mount Oxford. " — IanWright • Sep 6, 2015

"Started at 6:30 or so in the morning. Met cool people at the top and enjoyed the cookies they gave us. (: Began descent of Oxford at around 11:45am. Did not follow trail on the way down, so it took forever and we got back to the trailhead around 4:30pm. 12th 14er. Unsure of the exact date." — Globetrotter87 • Jun 16, 2012

"Left Denver at 3am, started hiking at 5:45. Reached the summit at 8am, then went on to climb Oxford, and then re-summited Mount Belford. A beautiful day, not a cloud in the sky! What a painful descent though..." — gub40897 • Aug 9, 2011

"Slept over night near trailhead and headed out at 4:30am. Took 5 1/2hrs. for my cousin and I to reach the summit. This is my 3rd CO 14er and by far the hardest yet! Glad I stuck with it and made it to the summit. Wasn't able to reach Mt. Oxford. We got a good rest in and then headed back down with my brother and his dog Junior who summited both Belford and Oxford." — hikingMomma33 • Jul 30, 2011

"Camped out in Missouri Gultch on Friday night before linking up Oxford and Belford on Saturday. Good firm snow in the morning, some bad wind in the afternoon. The glissade down made things easy. " — ChrisMeloche • May 16, 1998