A nice boot pack and almost continuous snow starting about 500 ft elevation from the Belford turnoff. We did not use any traction for the ascent to Belford, and the traverse to Oxford. Microspikes were very helpful coming down Belford to work our way downwards quickly - probably not essential, though. Given the freeze/thaw cycles, it's possible the boot pack may become icy in the next few days, in which case traction may become essential. It was windy and cold, but otherwise posed no problems at all.
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