Mount Langley

The route begins at the Horseshoe Meadow Trailhead at 10,000' and follows the Cottonwood Lakes Trail north through the Golden Trout Wilderness. At the first major junction, bear left toward Long Lake and New Army Pass; the right fork leads to the Cottonwood Lakes and Old Army Pass. The trail climbs steadily past Long Lake into the upper basin. From there, switchbacks ascend approximately 900 vertical feet to New Army Pass at 12,300'. From the pass, leave the maintained trail and follow the broad ridge northwest on Class 1 terrain — talus and open tundra — for approximately 2 miles to the summit of Mount Langley at 14,032'. Cairns mark portions of the cross-country segment; navigation is straightforward in clear conditions, but the route can be difficult to follow in snow or poor visibility. Retrace your steps to New Army Pass and descend the switchbacks to the lake basin. An alternate return descends via Old Army Pass: from the Cottonwood Lakes junction, bear right to traverse the lake basin and rejoin the main trail to the trailhead, adding approximately 1 mile to the overall distance. Views from the summit include the Whitney massif to the northwest, the Owens Valley and White Mountains to the east, and the high country of Sequoia and Kings Canyon to the west.

The peak is named in honor of Samuel Pierpont Langley, a physicist, astronomer, and secretary of the Smithsonian Institution who visited the region in 1881 to study solar radiation. In 1871, American geologist and explorer Clarence King famously summited Mount Langley under the mistaken belief that he was atop Mount Whitney, the highest peak in the contiguous United States. King corrected his mistake in 1873 by climbing the actual Mount Whitney.