The other option is to take I-70 west through Summit County to Exit 195 (the Copper Mountain exit), and drive CO 91 over Fremont Pass and into Leadville. From Leadville, continue on CO 91/US 24 about 19 miles south to Chaffee County 390. Turn west and it's 7.8 miles to Vicksburg. Either of these routes will take between 2.5~3.5 hours from Denver, depending on traffic and your inclination to drive the speed limit.

For this climb, the majority of folks actually decided to camp out near Leadville, so I met everyone at the Sugar Loafin' Campground between Leadville and Turquoise Lake at 5:15 the morning of the 14th. Didn't take too long for everyone to finish packing and we were on our way down to the trailhead, carpooling in 3 vehicles.

We arrived at the trailhead right about 6:20, and quickly prepped for the hike. The morning was cool (~40 degrees) with some low clouds already starting to build. We started off right about 6:30 - as the last of our party (Shaun) came whipping into the parking lot. He'd stayed down in Buena Vista the night before, and was running a little late. Still, he said he'd catch up, so we took off along the trail, keeping a moderate, steady pace. My yellow lab, Dexter, was along for the climb and spent the morning playing personal hiking companion to just about everybody. Oh, the boundless energy of dogs!

The trail descends a few dozen yards from the parking lot, and crosses Clear Creak on an excellent bridge. From there, it's only a few hundred yards before the trail starts to climb up the side of the valley, and steepens through a number of switchbacks. It didn't take long before we took a break to remove layers. The chill of the morning was no match for the sweat being worked up on that steep incline.

After about a mile, the trail levels out and crosses Missouri Gulch on a narrow set of logs - on cool mornings, be careful of frost on this crossing - a wet foot is a bad way to continue the day! The trail continues climbing gradually into Elkhead Basin. Right as you get to treeline, an old cabin site appears - an excellent place for a good break to eat and drink. Shaun finally caught up to us at this point, and we all gave him the requisite amount of crap for being late.

Once you leave the cabin site, you'll catch the first good look at Belford, and the route up its broad northwest shoulder. The switch-backing trail is easy to see, and gives you a good idea of what you're in for.

Climbing steadily up Elkhead Basin, I cast a worried glance at the skies, which were now mostly cloudy, filled with low-flying grey clouds that indicated a lot of moisture in the air. I kept wondering if rain was going to be a substantial part of the day. Luckily, the rain held off as we continued through the basin and came to the fork in the trail that sends Missouri climbers further into the basis and Belford/Oxford climbers to the left towards that broad shoulder. Hiking to the edge of the basin, a substantial climb through rocky rubble heralds the start of the actual climb up Belford. Luckily, the trail included an extremely convenient set of stone steps through this initial obstacle. Kudos to the CFI for the excellent trail work!

The hike up Belford's northwest shoulder is a steady climb along an excellent trail. The views keep getting better the higher you get, as Elkhead Basin spreads out below, and the Sawatch Range becomes evident around the surrounding ridges. Again, we kept the pace steady and took short breaks often, making sure that everyone was eating and hydrating well, and that no one was hurting from one thing or another. Aside from a couple blisters (easily dealt with with moleskin), everyone was 100% and doing great!

We finally hit the summit right about 11:45, and I was proud to see that the entire crew - Don, Bill, Chris, Rico, Michelle, Shaun, Leif, Jim, and of course Dexter - had made it. For 4 of these folks, it was their first fourteener! So it was high-5's all around, a few pictures, and then lunch. There is a really convenient windbreak off the summit to the southeast which is a great place to hunker down for lunch and a breather. Mount Oxford is prominent to the east, along a gentle 1.4 mile ridge hike. Missouri is right to the southwest and Huron to the west. Directly south is Mount Harvard and Columbia right behind. Everything else was obscured by the still-gathering clouds.

We started down at about 12:30, upon seeing rain showers falling down in the valley to the north (looked to be right around the trailhead) and hearing a few far-off booms of thunder. Even though folks were tired I tried to keep us at a moderate pace, thinking that the best plan right now would be to get everyone off the exposed mountain should the weather move in. We descended off the northwest shoulder amongst ever-thickening clouds and rumbles of thunder, and were taking a quick break right below the rocky intro section when the weather did indeed move in. A light but driving rain mixed with sleet started to fall. Quickly donning raingear, we moved on with a somewhat faster pace. Luckily everyone was equipped for inclement weather, and it wasn't as cold as it could have been. Once we reached treeline and the old cabin site, there was enough cover to stop for another quick breather before the last push to the trailhead.

That last hour out was cold and rainy, but everyone was still in pretty good spirits. The trail was becoming somewhat treacherous as the rain turned it into a muddy runoff path. Still, we made it down in good time, and were happily surprised to see the rain at the trailhead had stopped. After a quick change out of wet clothes, we headed back towards Leadville and an excellent Italian dinner in town at a restaurant who's name I, unfortunately, can't remember. Best alfredo ever!.