Mount Langley via New Army Pass

This route begins and ends at the Cottonwood Lakes Trailhead in Horseshoe Meadow after reaching the summit of Mount Langley. From the trailhead, follow the Cottonwood Lakes Trail. At 0.3 miles, turn right at the junction to stay on the Cottonwood Lakes Trail. At 1.5 miles, continue straight through the intersection with South Fork Cottonwood Creek Trail. Continue climbing gently through the forest, passing the Golden Trout Wilderness boundary. At 3.6 miles, turn left onto the New Army Pass Trail. Keep right at 4.7 miles to continue on New Army Pass Trail, then stay left, avoiding the Cottonwood Lakes Cutoffs, and heading west past Long Lake and High Lake. Begin a strenuous climb up the switchbacks of New Army Pass, gaining over 1,300 vertical feet from the trail split to reach the pass crest. From the pass at 8.2 miles, turn right (north) onto Army Pass Trail. The trail descends slightly across a broad sandy plateau before beginning the final 1,800-vertical-foot ascent. At 8.7 miles, turn left towards Old Army Pass Trail. Upon reaching the junction at 9.0 miles, turn right onto Old Army Pass Trail to begin climbing up to Army Pass. At 9.3 miles, after reaching Army Pass, turn left onto Mount Langley Trail. The primary navigation crux begins on the southwest slopes of Mount Langley. The trail fades into multiple sandy use paths and talus fields. Keep right along the route to bypass the Soldier Lake Trail cutoffs. Follow the large rock cairns closely to navigate the class 2 scramble over loose scree and granite slabs to the 14,032-foot summit. Retrace your steps back down the summit block, across the plateau, and down New Army Pass to return to the trailhead.