This was our third attempt at summiting Mt. Langley. First time we turned back because of altitude sickness. Second time we were smoked out by wildfires. This time we decided to try a one day hike, which we knew would be exhausting, but if acclimatized properly wouldn’t be very different in length and elevation than Mt. Whitney. The hike totaled 24 miles, 18 hours, and over 5,000 feet of elevation gain. And we’re happy to report, it was a success!,
We slept for two nights at Cottonwood Lakes Campsite and did one shorter hike to acclimatize. The campsite is around 10,000 feet and makes a great spot to get used to the higher altitude.
Clear skies meant lots of stars.
We began our hike at 3:45 am in order to see the lakes around sunrise. It was cold but good weather to begin the long hike in.
The sun starting to appear back down the valley.
There are two routes up to Langley. Old Army Pass is shorter but more treacherous, and there were reports of ice. We chose to play it safe and go up New Army Pass, which is more gradual but adds a couple miles on to the climb.
We reached Cottonwood Lake #1 shortly before sunrise. The high peak in the center is Mt. Langley…a long way off in the distance!
Beautiful morning light on Cirque Peak. One day we’ll return to climb that one.
The low morning sunlight on this tree made it glow.
Long Lake. This is where we had camped on our previous attempts, only to turn around both times. Since we were attempting a one day summit, we just stopped for a short rest and continued on.
A view of New Army Pass, about 1,000 foot climb and our first major elevation gain of the day.
The switchbacks were long and gradual, I think we only counted about ten. Very different than the short, steep 99 switchbacks of Mt. Whitney.
Incredible view of the Cottonwood Lakes from up on New Army Pass.
Sometimes there were signs telling us where we were.
Mt. Langley is an imposing, massive summit. From New Army Pass (9 miles in), we still had almost 4 more miles to go. And to make it worse, the last four miles were at high altitude and the steepest of the entire hike.
Cairns were essential in finding the most efficient route up to the summit.
Some of the largest cairns we’ve ever seen. You could see these things from great distances away.
Usually topped with the pretty rocks.
After around 12 miles and about 4,000 feet of elevation gain, we finally accomplished what we had failed to do twice before. We were ecstatic to reach the summit of Mt. Langley!!
No sign for me…the view says it all.
The mountain in shadows is Mt. Whitney. After summiting Whitney a couple months ago, we were surprised to find Langley was more difficult for us.
After relaxing and enjoying the views, we finally had to say goodbye and begin the long, exhausting journey back down to the car.
The sun set on our way down and we hiked the rest in the dark. This was a long, tiring day. We hiked for 18 hours, 24 miles and gained over 5,000 feet in elevation. Driving home, we had a great sense of accomplishment, but, like Mt. Whitney, agreed we will probably never attempt this hike again.