Mt Whitney Zone Forums General Discussion New Army / Old Army Pass - Mt Langley

Has anyone been up NAP or OAP in the last week or two? Im looking for trail conditions on either pass as I plan on heading up there this weekend. Thanks!

After your trip would you mind returning here to report on the conditions? I’m headed up there the 24th, so I also want to know the conditions.

Have a safe trip

A friend posted these on Facebook, from last week:

OAP



NAP

I do not mind at all. I will post a trip report early next week.

Thanks Steve... I figured it would be ice axe and crampon conditions. I just wanted to make sure before I carried all of that gear up there....and now i know

I was up at the cottonwood lakes basin three weeks ago and noticed NAP had a cornice near the top which made me question that route and wonder about OAP. I know a lot has changed in the 3 weeks but your photos do give me a sense of the conditions. Thank You!

There is almost always a way to get around steep snow and cornice on NAP at this time of year.

From a report on alltrails on June 7:

"Hiked in to Long Lake and spent the night. Hiked to the summit the following morning via New Army Pass which was mostly snow free except for the last 50ft which still had a very steep grade snow bank. There were steps already kicked into the snow which helped get up over the top of the pass. FYI, there was still too much snow on Old Army Pass unless you’re prepared with crampons and an ice axe."

Wanted to give you a trip/conditions report.... The gate is still closed as of June 13/14. The hike from the gate to Long Lake is snow free. Muddy in some locations. Lots of water up to the lakes basin so you dont need to carry much water weight until you start up New Arm Pass. Mosquitoes are not an issue yet but they are out. New Army Pass is snow free until the final 50' where you will encounter a wall of snow. Avoid the small cornice as it looks like it could fall any day. There are existing tracks in the snow that you can use to get up the final 50'. Most people were using traction of some sort for this section but it is doable without traction if you're careful. I highly recommend traction, especially if you hit this section after it has iced up in the afternoon. From the top of NAP to the summit there are a few patches of snow you can walk around. Almost no snow the last mile to the summit, just gotta deal with the sand and scree.

Excellent, thanks - looks like I've timed my upcoming trip perfectly for maximum mosquito exposure!

Any rangers up there or on the trail?

No Rangers on the trail but there was one at the gate on Sunday. Someone had parked directly in front of the gate and I believe he had called for a tow truck to remove the car.

One word: Permethrin

Thank you! I appreciate that. We are planning to hit Langley and then descend the west side to follow the PCT and then hike Mt Whitney. I think we might leave the micro spikes behind for this one.