Mt Whitney Zone Forums General Discussion Old army pass safety

I hiked around the Cottonwood Lakes on 7/25, and there appeared to be no snow left on the trail from that vantage point.

Thanks!
Someone posted pictures on FB from Friday of the pass, and its snow free.

How is the trail up "Old" Army Pass? I know it still gets a lot of use, but I've heard that there's a slide down over part of the now unmaintained trail. Do you just scramble up the slide? Or traverse across?

One of the guys going with me does not like heights or loose traverses. Just trying to get a sense of the trail.

Thanks for any help,

HJ

Hi HJ, I did Langley via Old Army a couple of weeks ago and did not notice any slide. The trail seemed completely fine / normal to me. If there was any kind of slide it must have been under the small snow patch at the top

Thank you, Norris. Accounts vary, but it seems like a reasonably experienced hiker shouldn't have a problem.

I'm thinking of coming down from Whitney via Crabtree Pass/Miter Basin to Upper Soldier Lake. From Upper Soldier Lake, it makes a lot of sense to exit to the east via Army Pass rather than New Army Pass. That and I'd like to see the Cottonwood Lakes which I haven't seen since I was a kid. I've been over Cottonwood Pass and Trail Pass in the last couple of years, but it's been 30+ years since I've been to the Cottonwood Lakes.

HJ