Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board x-country route from cottonwd lakes to mt whitney

I'm thinking of taking a cross country route from cottonwood lakes, up to mt langley, back down to lower soldier lake, through sky blue lake, up over crabtree pass, down to upper crabtree lake, over discovery pinnacle, trailcrest and up to the mt whitney summit and down to whitney portal....the last week of july...has anyone done this route and could you give me some information on the route???

I've done that route the last two years and it is beautiful. There's some Beta on the route if you search for Mitre basin or crabtree pass.

Both times we skipped Langley so I don't have insight into a cross country route down to soldier lake from the summit but I'm sure it's been done.

Last year we went all the way to Sky blue lake in the first day from the trail head over old army pass. That was a long day with a heavy pack but doable. The second day was a pretty easy hike to upper crabtree lake at the base of the discovery pinnacle. The last day we climbed the pinnacle to trail crest, summitted whitney and exited via the main trail. I would suggest adding an extra day and staying at one of the cottonwood lakes for a night.

The route we followed was on trail to soldier lake and then fairly easy off trail route finding from there to trail crest. Send me a PM with any specific questions on the route or good camping spots and I can give you more info or photos. It is definitely an area worth exploring and you will have it mostly to yourself.

"Both times we skipped Langley so I don't have insight into a cross country route down to soldier lake from the summit but I'm sure it's been done."

Class 1, looking at the lake.

http://piotrowski.smugmug.com/California...648298588_oLyc6



The view looking down from the chute we descended.


Looking back up the chute we descended.


I don't recall it being anything other than loose Class 2 down to the basin. It saved a LOT of time vs. heading the "normal" route.

Richard, was that trip in a day? What is with that link?

Yes, it was Mike's choice for an Epic Day a few summers ago. (Mine was the Hostel to Whitney and Jim's was an MR Double.)

Edit/Paste didn't work the first time I tried to copy a link to the photo album. It's fixed now.

Hi Norcalhiker,

The Miter Basin is an awesome area and the cross country route is easy.

The crux of your proposed Cottonwood Lakes to Mt Whitney hike is getting from Crabtree Pass to Discovery Pinnacle. Traditionally, hikers descend Crabtree Pass to Upper Crabtree Lake and then trudge up "the sandhill" to Discovery Pinnacle. Several years ago Bob R pointed out to me a better way: From Crabtree Pass traverse to the right below Mt McAdie (without lossing much elevation) to get to Discovery Pinnacle. I have done this and it is easy, but watch for loose rock. There is a discussion of this in the 6/26/08 thread on the WPSMB called "The dreaded sandhill." Some Board members in the past have posted nice photos of this traverse.

There is a splendid and very detailed trip report of the descent from Mt Langley directly to Soldier Lakes. It has many photos of the route and can be found at http://halfaya.org/leo/hiking/SoldierLake/index.htm ( In the text, I am the "solo ultralight backpacker" who the authors of the trip report stumble apon after ascending the Miter.)

Hope this helps.

Jim F

I should say that the route from Langley to Soldier is class one, if one descends off the mountain to the plateau, and then down to the lake. Straight down the mountain is as Richard says.

Wow, i really appreciate all the very helpful information. I plan on taking it easy the first day, cottonwood lakes trailhead up to maybe long lake, day two the plan is to go over either new or old army pass depending on the snow pack...summit langley, come back down near old army pass, and head down toward lower soldier...if there is time that day...head up to sky blue lake. From there, i guess it all depends on the weather and how my grp feels , as far as how far we may go each day. I have the trip planned for 6 days...just in case we run into delays, weather,etc. I tried last year, first week of october and got stuck in snowstorm , with no way to get to the summit without crampons...i think this year...is the year!

I'm doing this trip in September but skipping Langley and as a loop starting and ending at Horseshoe meadows. If you go out at the portal you will need the trail crest exit permit so reserve 6 months in advance which is about now. You can do it over the phone through the Lone Pine visitor center.

We are sleeping a night at horseshoe meadows and then Long Lake before heading into the mitre basin. Altitude sickness can be a real problem if you over do it. 6 days sounds perfect. That is our plan as well. We are doing a lot of fishing and have multiple layover days to enjoy this awesome area.