Mt Whitney Zone Forums Thread Like Summary - Cottonwood Lakes & NAP Conditions 7/30

Hi all,

Spent a few days in Cottonwood Lakes with loose plans to fish and make Langley if possible.

Old Army Pass' long upper switchback is completely iced-over. OAP may be out of the question this season.

New Army Pass is largely snow-free BUT there is a large iced cornice at the top. My GF and I got to about 11,700 with only minimal snow but we saw a ton of folks turn back once reaching the last stretch. Some folks with crampons, boots, and ice axes front-pointed over the cornice while one or two others attempted class-four scrambling around it. See below for an image, the red line is where the switchback roughly goes.



We decided to enjoy the views and turn back. We also saw a fighter jet scream over CL while on a break.

I have turned around and this exact point before. Its not fun, but probably the right call. Plenty of stuff to explore in the CW area without the risk.