The Rising

Today, I climbed my 10th and 11th 14er. I did Mt. Belford (14,205 ft.) & Mt. Oxford (14,160 ft.) The mountains are located in the Collegiate Peaks Wilderness northwest of Buena Vista. I took the standard route from the Missouri Gulch trailhead (9,640 ft.) Mt. Belford was the first and last of the 14ers I climbed on the day. It was 3 and half mile hike to the top of Mt. Belford from the trailhead. It was quite cold on top of Mt. Belford. I didn’t stay too long due to the wind and because I needed to keep moving so that I could climb Mt. Oxford.



Mt. Oxford from the top of Mt Belford.

Top of Missouri Mtn. on the right. Huron Peak is right center behind the ridge.



Me on Mt. Belford







From the top of Mt. Belford, I hiked down to a saddle of about 13,500 feet. I then started up Mt. Oxford. Trail distance between Mt. Belford and Mt. Oxford is about 2 miles. The climb up Mt. Oxford from the saddle was relatively easy. By the time I got to the top, the Sun was partially out, and the wind did not seem as bad.



Me on top of Mt. Oxford





Looking back on Mt. Belford.


Mt. Harvard. To the right of Mt. Harvard is Mt. Yale with its top in the clouds.



Look,there is a pika on that rock.





To get back to my car I had to backtrack back over Mt. Belford. The climb up Mt. Belford from the saddle is quite steep. I would say it was toughest part of the hike. I made it, and I was rewarded with some nicer temperatures on top Mt. Belford. I could also see a little bit more. There were surprisingly a lot of clouds in the area this morning. The clouds never threaten, but I kept an eye on them. I made it back to my car around 2 pm. It was a tough day, but obviously it was worth it.



Me on Mt. Belford again





The way down




Mt Oxford on the left and the summit of Mt. Belford on the right.



LaPlata Peak on the left. Mt. Elbert is right center.




An alpine flower.