New Army Pass

Has anyone been up New Army Pass in the last few days? Are crampons and an ax necessary? Is there a cornice at the top? I'll be going up in mid-July and am curious regarding what to expect in this high-snow year. Thanks!

Hi, I was on the phone with the Eastern Sierra Interagency yesterday because I have a 3 day trip planned for Cottonwood Lakes and Langley on July 13-15 and she told me that the snow levels around the lake and trails is knee to waist-deep and that the melt is causing marsh-like conditions. She said that the snow isn't melting fast enough to be clear on my trip. So I guess that means that the Army passes (especially the Old one) are going to be full of snow for awhile and I will be cancelling my reservation.
Wonder what Whitney will look like on July 27 when I'm supposed to go...

Not sure who she was, but some friends just went up Old Army and slept on top of Langley and the journey was trivial. About what you would expect for this time of year---just a month later than "normal."

She didn't say who she was but she mentioned the new snow from the storm on the 16th as the factor. Did your friends go up recently? And did they happen to say how much snow on the pass?

Thanks for the info.

Well, since the identity of "she" couldn't be confirmed, and the odds of anyone on a random phone call having first-hand, boots-on-the-ground intel is dubious at best, I decided to go up there myself yesterday. (Oh, and my friends had been up there right after the "storm" that didn't drop anything that stuck, so that bit is moot.)

(Lots of preamble, huh? You'd probably kinda like some actual info, wouldn't 'cha?)

Well, my boots-on-the-ground info (well, trail runners, actually) is that you're going to need to go out of your way to get into knee- to waist-deep snow right now (with the exception of the last 1/4 to the top of New Army or in a slushy, sun cup stretch that's over a creek and you fall in when everything is mush in the afternoon and you could've easily gone around). So, in 2+ weeks, you're really going to have to travel far off trail to find a spot to numb your belly button. She did have the marsh/swamp description pretty accurate, but that's like saying, "It's going to start getting especially dark once the sun goes down." Obvious, for this time of the cycle in that basin.

So, with my eyeballs from yesterday, and my crystal balls of prognostication for July 13-15, you'll have the normal bits of snow patches en route, and negligible bit of snow slope walk-up (with very deep, established track) for the last 20-35' at the top of NAP bypassing whatever is left of the cornice. Take your axe and crampons just so you can get there and say, "Why did I bring my axe and crampons???" And don't take any bug spray so you can say the same thing in reverse. In the meantime, there will be plenty of people commenting and posting photos as your trip gets closer and the rest of the snow disappears on that slope. So if it were me, I wouldn't cancel my reservation. If anything, I'd double-down and make another reservation just to show "her."

No pictures?

Is this high-res enough for you?

Thanks Jeff.....I had a great laugh this morning seeing your post.

Doug, when did you hire these guys to entertain us? Smart move!!!!

paul

Does one need to be a Russian Hacker to add drawings to the post?

That's perfect, Jeff! It's a good example of accuracy versus precision. You should work for the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.

nap should be NAP...

I thought this is where you had to stop to rest after a hard climb up...

I'm still working on my capital letters...

...and yes. The dog actually took two naps while we were out on Saturday, but he's a puppy. I have no excuse.

While I appreciate the humor in this post, would appreciate an objective assessment of NAP conditions. Thanks.

Humorishness, aside, what additional info did you need beyond my write-up?

Conditions now, not in two weeks. Thanks.

So, you reached the top of NAP in trail runners without difficulty? Did you continue to the summit of Mt. Langley? If so, were there cairns of adequate size and in sufficient numbers?

These aren't right this second, but from Saturday:

NAP from High Lake


Like I said, a few patches over the switchbacks


The upper 1/4 is mostly snow


Current track right of the cornice and past the block/tower


Zoomed in

Hmmm...technical difficulties. Hold tight...

I am holding my breath. Hurry up!!!!!

paul

HILARIOUS! Thank you for the info! Plus I love your "photo"!

I was up NAP on Saturday and topping out over the cornice was the most extreme mountaineering that I had done at the time. It was exceeded only by returning to the cornice and down climbing the same section. We went over the cornice at the very far right end where it abuts the VERY large rock wall. At this point the cornice was not over-hanging, but basically vertical for the last 6 to 10 feet. When we returned to High Lake, we spoke with an ascending climber who said that he would go right of the large rock wall, following along the ascending base of the wall and then up. This is considerably farther to the right (east) ow where the trail goes up. Jeff, I am curious where you topped out.
After NAP, the rest of the climb to the summit was pedestrian. The large cairns were intact and easy to follow. There was less snow than the hike to High Lake.

I appreciate your info and am holding my breath for your photos as well. I have a group of people heading up to Long Lake for the Jul 4th weekend. We are planning a summit of Langley. I would love not to have to carry crampons/axe/helmet if possible. Already have tons of Deet packed! Currently I'm asking the group to bring full gear, but would love to tell them just Hillsounds. They would love me for that as well! I do hike Langley a few time each year, so I am used to navigating "the" cornice. I have used crampons some years and micros. I look forward to the photos. THANK YOU!

Good info! Thank you! Do you have any photos? I usually do end up going right from under the headwall... however each year it is a little different.

Bugs were not a problem for us. A few as we hiked in and hiked out. None at our camp on High Lake. Long Lake may be much different this coming weekend, so being prepared is a great idea.
In my opinion, NAP could not have been done on Saturday without crampons and ice axe.
Unfortunately I do not have photos, but hopefully Jeff's will show up soon.

Conditions may be considerably different a week later when you go, but we made the mistake of trying to stay on the trail high....which meant traversing icy snow fields twice for fairly long distances before arriving at the head wall. Alternatively we could have left the trail directly below the head wall and made out way up on dirt and rock. This is the way that we descended.

If one doesn't mind some easy scrambling, one can scramble up from Long Lake to an area just east of NAP and continue to Langley from there, with nearby Peak 12369 as a bonus.

After the route we took over the NAP cornice, the route that you describe actually looked pretty good as we descended.

Do you have any info on this route? Thx

Just when I was going to give you my vague recollections, I remembered this. Here is somebody else's version of the route:

Army Ridge route per SummitPost

Still sorting the photo issue, but since we're talking about alternate routes, if you don't mind taking a rope
there's always my preferred way to go...

As we descended past Long Lake on Saturday, it appeared that one could scramble directly up the couloir behind the lake vs. taking the ridge...as an alternative. Couldn't make out what the cornice might be. Both routes would top out at the same/similar point.

I've never ascended that route, but I've descended there a few times for convenience, always after climbing nearby Peak 12369 (aka Army Pass Point). Class 2.

I don't know if Jim or someone tried to send me a message.... with photos. My envelope is blinking but no messages?? Maybe you could send the photos via private message Jim?

Sorry, I meant Jeff

WOW! I would try that route! Not with a group though.

Wow Jeff! did you rent clampons to do red better buttress?

Yes, these. They work great in the sand and with an extra wire or string hanging off the front of them...

Also, if you've noticed, there's a world-wide photo posting issue (i.e. Facebook, Instagram, etc.)

That's right, always have a safety string attached to the opposite boot in case you throw a clamp-on. Nothing worse than losing one.

BFR and I dayhiked Langley by New Army Pass yesterday. The trail below the pass is completely covered in snow, and the cornice is overhanging everywhere. However, it was easy to ascend the rock and sand to the left of the pass all the way up. We did it all using hiking poles, and rarely used our hands on the rock. Class 2. It’s a bit out of the way and higher than the actual pass, but it beats turning around. Though you will have to cross some snow, crampons, ice axe, and gaiters are not necessary.

In addition to the previous 40 replies, remember there is always NAVY PASS. Bob Rockwell has a fine Trip Report of ascending Mt Langley by Navy Pass. To get to Bob's photos go to the WPSMB Member photo albums, click on the Bob R link, and then go to June 13, 2009 Mt Langley.

Jim

Bob, Thanks for the update. I'll be going up in two weeks, and your report with the class 2 rock alternative to the left of the cornice is exactly the type of information that I was looking for.

For a nice two-day-er skip the lakes and go cottonwood pass. Come around from the west side from siberian pass to new army and then up Langley. Incredible views along the way and no cornice to deal with. Camp at Soldier lake. I did this trip Saturday.

Does anyone have a more recent update on NAP conditions?

I did a day hike to Langley via NAP on Saturday 7/20. There are just a few patches of snow along the trail up to NAP. The cornice is still snow at the top of NAP but once you hit the snow just below the crest you will see some cairns ahead to the west on the trail and there is a short snow field to traverse which had good footsteps ( may be a little icy in early morning but softens up during the day). Once you get past that short section it is just a short snow free step up through a boulder section to the top. Most people had no problem getting through it. From there on you can avoid all snow patches on the trail to the top.

Wife and I just back from a 4-day:
1. Chicken Spring Lake via Cottonwood Pass
2. Upper Soldier Lake
3. Mt. Langley then back to Cirque Peak drainage spot
4. Out to Alabama Hills Vegetable Scramble!

Original plan was to drop packs on final to Mt. Langley then pick up on the way to descend Old Army but was warned off. No Prob as the return the way we came was even better. ENJOY!!