Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Need Beta on Langley

I've read a few TRs but I don't seem to find definitive answers on the best route, NAP or AP? Then most TRs seem to say there are many trails from the pass to the summit, is there definitely better route? A more fun route? I did the MR last weekend and loved it.

We plan to hike into the Cottonwood Lakes area 6/24 and summit on 6/25.

Any suggestions?

I've only done it from NAP. You'll understand the trip reports when you gaze at Langley to the north from NAP. It's just a long slog on totally open terrain, with no need for a definitive trail. As you ascend from the south it becomes more technical toward the east (less scree and more rocks), and less so toward the west (fewer rocks and more scree). Due north is a simple scree/boulder scramble.

Definately try for Old Army Pass, which is more direct than NAP. Here is a photo I took last August <A href="http://www.summitpost.org/mountains/photo_link.pl?photo_id=74239&object_id=64&type=mountain&mountain_id=64&route_id="> AP Route</A>

Alternatively, there seems to be a fun class 3 slab climb up to the crest which many seem to use. I believe route finding can be tricky to keep in under class 3. Here is a pretty good site indicating the general route <A href="http://scotty.geostrachan.com/climbing/ca_peaks/langley/langley.htm"> Buttress Route</A> It seems recommended to travel this route when is is snow free, so hopefully it is mostly melted out at the end of the month. Good Luck! I love the Cottonwood Lakes Basin. It is a fabulous area to set up a base camp.

Here are our photos from last year's trip <A href="http://community.webshots.com/album/101105445kremwq"> Mt. Langley August 2003 </A>

I'll confirm what Reiksgib said: Definately go AP. When you get up the pass there is a maze of trails. Langley is in plain sight, so there isn't any question of where to go.

You might need to find out what the snow conditions are like up there right now. Looking outside I can see that Langley is still fairly white compared to Olancha peak, so there must still be some snow.

Here are a few low resolution images from the first week of the month:

[img]http://piotrowski.us/pictures/dsc01960.jpe[/img]

[img]http://piotrowski.us/pictures/dsc01962.jpe[/img]

[img]http://piotrowski.us/pictures/dsc01964.jpe[/img]

[img]http://piotrowski.us/pictures/dsc01970.jpe[/img]

If you think the high res images would be of value, let me know.

<image src="http://www.summitpost.org/images/90282.jpg">
Here is snow level on the AP and Mt. Langley by May 31, 2004 as seen from First Lake.
The trail to the Cottonwood Lakes Basin was clear of snow.
The weather was windy and warm but it can change in second. Early in the morning was very cold.
Hope this will help.
Happy climb and take care.
tomi

When I went to Langley late in the year (like September/ October) Army pass still had a big snow drift near the top, which I had to walk across. The trail going up to New Army pass faces south so the snow melts earlier then on Army pass (which faces north). Consequently early in the Summer New Army pass is a safer bet since it will have less snow.

Once you get on the ridge between Cirque peak and Mt. Langley it is relatively flat. Both passes easily merge into the same place once on the ridge. The only difference is one is about 1/4 - 1/2 mile further south along the ridge.

As will be mentioned the Southeast ridge route to Langley is a nice class three.. a nice scramble through large boulders. The south facing slopes are very loose and soft, which is fine on the way down.

Hi BJ. You used a lot of abbreviations in your post and I understand most of them, but you asked for "beta". What is "beta"? I hear that a lot.

Beta:
Any advance information (weather, rock or snow conditions, terrain features, local lore) which helps in planning or negotiating a climb.

Past it being the second letter of the Greek alphabet I don't know the origin of the term or its connection to climbing. The first time I heard it used I thought they misspoke and meant to say “data”. I’d like to know the origin of the term myself.
BJ

Did Langley June 6 via NAP. The snow cornice on top of NAP was avoided by traversing left up the "rockpile" at the left end of the snow cornice. THe snow hangs longer on OAP, but that route is a bit shorter/more direct than NAP. Either way it makes for a long dayhike....

Here is my $0.02 for what its worth. About a year ago I did Langley from NAP. It was fairly easy with about a 75 foot snow section toward the top that was fairly easy to negotiate. As we walked over to AP, we could look down and see the very exposed ice/snow covered slope we would have to have crossed to get up. None of us were very expereince nor did we have the proper equipment. For that, NAP is the easier of the two. In terms of distance, it adds on a bit but I think it is well worth the safety margin.
Happy hiking.

BJ, Krystal: In the engineering world and I'm sure in other places, a beta test is the first "real world" test of a design. The alpha test is done by the design team, the beta test by the people that will actually be doing the production. I'm certain that the term beta is used in a similar fashion "real world experience" in this case as well.

BJ,
If you've done the mountaineer's route on Whitney, you may want to consider the SE ridge of Langley. It's a class 3 route I've used twice of the three times I've done Langley. Even though it's a little more technical than the class 1-2 route up the south face, I think it's easier because you're not slogging up a sand/scree slope. To begin the route, I went to the lake at the base of the cliffs above lake 5 to the east. From there go up the couloir nearest the cliffs, you will be headed ENE. From the top of the couloir, work your way around to the N and then to the W to gain the SE ridge. It's some good class 3 boulder climbing from there to gain the summit plateau. I think the route is described better than I can do here, in "Climbing California's Fourteeners". Good luck.

My 2 1/2 cents: The only bummer about NAP is you gain about 300ft only to lose it once turning to the north! If you can get through the snow safely in OAP, then I would highly recommend it verses the unnecessary extra sandy miles and elevation gain.

Having done both passes, I definitely prefer OAP, however, this is early in the year, and there will certainly be snow covering the trail. It is in a similar aspect to the snow chute next to the 99 switchbacks. There have been a number of epics there, always related to people getting onto the snow without the means to travel safely. It will be fine and clear by August, I'd think. but the picture, above, seem to show significant snow in the area, and I'd expect you would have to deal with quite a bit, on an exposed slope, and you probably wouldn't want to do that unless you are experienced in that terrain, probably with an axe.
Here was a Yahoo post from last year 6/19, a year with similar snow:

Which route are you planning to take? If you consider
Old Army Pass from the Cottonwood Lake basin,
definitely bring your crampons and ice axe. Old Army
Pass is still covered with snow. We ended up climbing
'direct' chute of Old Army Pass. It got steep towards
the end (45-50 degrees), so crampons and ice axe are a
must in there! I'd suggest against following
'standard' route (to the left of the snow field) up
Old Army Pass right now as it is still largely covered
with snow and has lots of exposure, especially towards
the end.
===============

G'luck

Hey BJ, we're doing the same trip but one day behind you. We're going up to Cottonwood Lakes on the 25th, and to the summit on the 26th. Plan to take the OAP route but we'll see.

--GaryM
<a href="http://gary.mggm.net/photos" target="photos">my photos</a>

Okay, thanx for the great beta!

Based on what I’ve learned here’s my plan: I’m going to bring the ice ax and crampons and try (old) Army Pass either on the trail (preferred) or directly up the chute depending on what looks better. Then I’ll try the third class scramble to the summit. I hate traveling in scree and enjoy the climbing.

Is there anything else you guys think I should know about this route?