Mt Whitney Zone Forums General Discussion Any beta on a west-side approach via new army/guitar lake?

Hi all,

Some friends and I will be doing a west-side approach of Whitney, going through Cottonwood Lakes, New Army Pass, and up and around Guitar Lake. I was wondering if anyone had any info on current trail conditions. I've searched and found a ton of info and trip reports on the Whitney Portal side, but I haven't been able to locate any recent trip reports on the route we are planing to take. Any advice or current trail info is greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Esteban

The routes are clear and dry. Probably faster to use Army than New Army if you're headed north.

Thanks KevinR. The route we're planning on taking is similar to the one outlined here.

http://infolab.stanford.edu/~crespo/Pictures/Langley03/Langley-Muir-Whitney.JPG

Would you still advise taking Old Army Pass over New Army? Also, is there a clear trail over Old Army Pass?

Thanks,
Esteban

Estaban -

They're probably about the same in terms of total effort, but I like Army (or Old Army) over New Army as it's got less exposure sunshine-wise. Depending upon when you go up, you can really get cooked from that side, which is why it melts out faster in the spring. I also like the views better.

But, in the total scheme of things - it probably won't matter which one you use. It's all good. Great, actually. One of my favorite areas in the warm weather.

Kevin

Sounds good. Thanks again KevinR.

If anyone has any other advice on this route, it would be appreciated.

I like Army Pass but my guess is it adds distance to the a couple miles trip via if you were to use the South Fork Trail to New Army Pass.

Once you cross the S.F. of Cottonwood Creek, look for a trail to your left, it is about 180' beyond the creek. This trail gets little traffic and it takes out the rock n' roll you get on the CL/NAP Trail.

Once you reach South Fork Lakes you go cross country through the basin, rejoining the NAP Trail just below Long Lake. This cuts off about a mile if you were to use NAP from the trailhead.

The trade off is you have to climb an additional 300' on a pass that has been maintained.

Thanks for the heads up on the shortcut wbtravis. We'll keep our eyes out. I guess we need to decide if we want to go through Army or New Army pass. If we have the time it seems like Army may be the way to go - more scenic and less strenuous.

In my opinion, cutting two miles off a trip make it less strenuous. The 300' extra feet of hiking is on a maintained trail. The hike up Army Pass take a bit more effort because you will be dealing with a lot more steps, snow and a class 3 move or two near the top. As for scenic, it would be up to the individual.

I haven't been over NAP is for 7 or 8 years, I've crossed Cottonwood three-four times and Army twice. For pure scenery I'd choose Cottonwood, for going to Mt. Langley I'd choose Army but for trip to Mt. Whitney I'd go via NAP.