Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Mt. Langley For Training

I did Mt. Langley last weekend and I was wondering how many people did it as a warm up to Mt. Whitney, either day hike or backpack.

I found this trip to be a much sterner test than any of the more popular "big hikes" in SoCal. Baldy Village to the Summit...is 16 miles +6,000' but it's only to 10,064'. Vivian Creek to San G is similar, +5,950'+/- and 16 miles and Humber Park to San Jac. has 16 to 18 miles with 4,500' gain...short on distance, gain and elevation.

I will give you the first 6 miles to Langley are a piece of cake but the last 5 miles are tougher than Trail Camp to Mt. Whitney by a wide margin. Gives you the day hiker distance, elevation gain and the last 1,500' of gain to the summit will get your heart pumping. We will also give you something the aforementioned SoCal three don't...14,000'.

This would be my "big hike" prior to day hiking Mt. Whitney and to introduce Main Trail newbie backpackers to 14,000' summits.

One caveat...if you are strictly a trail hiker with limited route finding skills you might find this trip a bit daunting.

I've done both Langley and Whitney several times each.

Honestly, I think Langley is the tougher hike. Much tougher than Baldy or San G. too. It's about 400 feet lower than Whitney but once you leave the trail after Army(or New Army) pass it's slow going. In some sections the scree is pretty deep. Two steps up, slide back one. Route finding is fairly easy but it isn't even an issue on Whitney.

Good points wbtravis. I did Langley for the first time last year as a solo in early June. For me it was a post Whitney climb, but I agree that it would make a great Whitney training climb for So Cal folks. The beauty is: a.) it is relatively close (you can squeeze in an “overnighter” easily in a weekend), b.) the trail head is at 10K (a nights rest at 10K’ seems to help me with acclimatization), and c.) it has the 14K’ elevation that you simply cannon recreate in So Cal. I have done all of the So. Cal climbs that you mention and agree that while some of them are challenging in terms of vertical gain or linear distance traveled, they simply do not have the altitude that you need for Whitney or the rest of the Southern Sierra. Langley is also very scenic, gets little use comparatively, and can be quite challenging (go when there’s some snow left and try the direct approach just E of cottonwood lake #5). I plan on doing it early next year as preparation for Whitney and some other Sierra climbs (in conjunction with the So. Cal training climbs - the N side of Gorgonio in the early Spring is always a good one). -TA

This is probably a silly question at this time of year, but is there any snow left on the Old Army Pass trail?

Steve, the weekend after Labor Day, there was virtually nothing. I can't remember stepping on snow. The trail is fine with the exception of the little slide near the top which is easily passed on the high side.

Thanks Ed! That's what I needed to know.

Steve,

There is still a touch of snow near the top of the pass near the one minor class 3 section but it is easily avoid...my treking poles touch it not my boots.

Mtntrailrunner,

The route finding is very easy the 2nd time around when you know the ropes but the first time is another story entirely. There are a lot of paths which eventual lead to the class 2 route to the top.

It took me less half the time up the mountain from the cut up than it did the first time. And it will take less the next time because I've got all figured out now.

Because of all the divergent paths a newbie may get confused, especially if this is there first experience off trail. 3 groups totaling 10 hit the top of Army Pass at the same time last Saturday, only my group of 3 made the summit.