Mt. Langley
Cottonwood Lakes / Sierra crest · near Lone Pine · Eastern Sierra
Mountaineering
At a glance
- Grade
- nontechnical
- Elevation
- 14026
- Best season
- July–September (snow-free); Old Army Pass can hold snow into summer
What is here
- Terrain
- alpine-rock
- Amenities
- Cottonwood Lakes trailhead (Horseshoe Meadow) · Not in the Whitney lottery — easier permit · Lovely lake-basin camps · Great first Sierra 14er
- Best for
- An accessible, non-technical first Sierra 14er
- Features
- One of the easiest Sierra 14ers · Non-technical class-1/2 walk-up · Beautiful Cottonwood Lakes approach · Escapes the Whitney permit crush
Worth knowing
- Hazards
- High altitude — 14,000+ ft; acclimatize on this long approach · Old Army Pass holds steep snow into early summer · Route-finding on the upper sand & boulder slopes · Afternoon thunderstorms on the exposed plateau
- Beginner friendly
- Yes
Guides, rentals and operators
- Guided trips
- Yes
Mountaineering detail
- Skills
- altitude · scrambling
- Style
- walk-up
- Altitude
- 5
- Route notes
- One of the very few California 14ers you can reach by a class-1 to class-2 route — a long but non-technical walk up through the gorgeous Cottonwood Lakes basin and over Old Army Pass to a broad, high summit plateau
- Beta note
- ~14,026 ft; Class 1–2 via Cottonwood Lakes & Old Army Pass; a long high-altitude day/overnight
- Intl tip
- A great first California 14er — one of only a handful reachable by a non-technical class-1/2 route, via the gorgeous Cottonwood Lakes basin and Old Army Pass from Horseshoe Meadow. Still a long, high day (or relaxed overnight) with real altitude and a sandy, bouldery finish, but no scrambling exposure — and the permit is far easier than Whitney's. Old Army Pass can hold steep snow into early summer, so aim for dry conditions.
- Directions note
- Park at Horseshoe Meadows — Cottonwood Lakes trailhead (10,000 ft)
The guide
Mt. Langley is many people's first California 14er, and for good reason: it's one of only a handful reachable by a non-technica…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Mt. Langley — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 36.5236, -118.2395