Mt Whitney Zone Forums General Discussion Mt. Langley conditions

So I hiked Mt. Whitney last year and am going to day hike it this year. I was curious though what the snow conditions are like on Mt. Langley. Is it pretty much the same as Whitney where you will have snow in June or does the trail clear faster on it? Any other tips comparing the two mountains?

It would be difficult to make a direct comparison. I think Langley is easier, but not by much.

Whitney is 6100 feet of gain in 22 miles. All trail. Whitney is also 500 feet higher, which really counts when you are that high up.

Snow wise you should face similar melt-out times, especially if you take the New Army Pass approach. Via NAP the trip up Langley will be about 5000 feet of gain over 22 miles. With Langley the trail dissipates just below the peak into sandy slopes and boulder-fields. At that point it is a choose your own adventure to the top.

Either way, I think Langley is a fantastic hike. Do it.

My experience with Langley is a bit different than Snacking Bear's.

First, with one exception, I've always done it via Army Pass (sometimes called Old Army to differentiate it via from New Army). That pass does require a longer wait in the spring/summer in order to melt out as it has a sheltered exposure. So, while the snow generally melts in most sections much earlier than Whitney due to different exposures, the bottleneck on Langley is usually these Army Passes. New Army tends to melt earlier, and if there's no cornice (a seasonal variation due to winds during any given storm) is safer to navigate while snow-covered. The New Army route is a bit longer, and does require a slight loss/gain of elevation.

Whereas Whitney has mostly continuous grades, Langley has long sections of either mostly flat or slightly uphill sections, so with the exception of Army Pass (which only takes about 30-45 minutes to do) you have a much easier time of it than Whitney, with the exception of the soft sand/scree which he describes near the top 1/2 mile or so. The starting elevation at Horseshoe Meadows is 10K, so the overall gain is a bit over 4K over approximately the same distance.

There is a different "feel" to Langley as well - there are several lakes on this route, with walks thru at least one meadow with a large marmot population, and a good chance of seeing bighorn sheep up high. If you pass by the last lake on the descent near dusk you'll almost certainly see lots of deer.

So, do I prefer one over the other? No, they're both great hikes, just different. And, you won't need a permit to do Langley unless you're planning an overnight.

According to friends, there isn't much snow this year...see all the early openings. My guess in June NAP will not be a problem, whereas AP will still have issues for those not willing to carry an axe and crampons.

Once to the top of the pass, it's a sandy slog...a beautiful sandy slog but a slog none the less.

Local knowledge helps here, so going with someone who has done this mountain can cut 30 to 45 minutes off the time from the top of the pass to the summit.

Take the steepest route you feel comfortable doing to the mountain. The further west, the shorter the route. You'll figure it out when you get there.

My best friend and I did Langley last June and it was very clear of snow. The only snow was a 10 foot cornice on NAP that we ended up bypassing by scrambling over some class 3 to the side. This June, especially with the low amount of snow, I highly doubt there will be any snow to worry about on NAP.

However, when we went to OAP to check it out it was completely snowed in and unfeasible unless you had axe and crampons, as wbtravis said, so unless you have the gear and experience, I would just plan on NAP. OAP is quite steep and climbers have died on it so proceed with caution. The mountain will always be there, and the additional 1.5 - 2 miles are worth the safety.

There were a couple snow fields near the summit that were full of suncups and penitentes but they were also easily passible, since the majority of the summit is a scramble.

I would love to add pictures of the trip, as I well documented it, but I'm not sure how to insert from iPhoto. If I'm told how, I will share the experience!

> I would love to add pictures of the trip, as I well documented it, but I'm not sure how to insert from iPhoto. If I'm told how, I will share the experience!

MattB: Click on the Picture Gallery forum. Top of the page, there is a link titled: Uploading Pictures to the Picture Gallery. Second post in that thread tells you how you can then make a post and include the pictures in a writeup.

Just got around to trying it out. Unfortunately some of them are really large, too big for the 4MB size. If grfenwick sends me a PM I can try getting them to him via email?

If you email me a few, I'll resize them and post them. Email address is in my profile.

Also wondering about Langley area conditions for a Memorial Day summit attempt. Looks like there's some chance of additional accumulation over the next few days: http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php...=1#.VVqz1mAa3d4