TR: Mt. Langley attempt from Owens Valley, Oct. 2017

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JosiahSpurr
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Re: TR: Mt. Langley attempt from Owens Valley, Oct. 2017

Post by JosiahSpurr »

josiahspurr wrote: Sun May 03, 2020 11:58 pm Going straight up and to the L of that object is pass #4 with the dead trees. [...] [...] [...]
Here's a link to mini pass #4 with the cross-hairs at Lat=36.5383 & Long=-118.1846 :

HST Map

Here's an embed :



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Re: TR: Mt. Langley attempt from Owens Valley, Oct. 2017

Post by Jim F »

Josiah,

Thanks for sharing your recent outing. If you can get behind (west) of 3153, it seems reasonable that you can make it to Langley (with considerable work required). If further progress is made, keep us updated!

I studied your note on Secor's description of Diaz Pass. I had never considered the Pass might be on the Sierra Crest. But, apparently it is! Previously I was searching for it far to the east.

As it turns out, I have descended several times from Diaz Pass down into the Miter Basin. If one heads straight down a sandy trail to the Upper Soldier Lake, negotiates a short crack at the end of the descending ridge north of the lake, then one is suddenly and dramatically exposed to the overwhelming expanse of the Miter Basin (with a trivial descent into it).

Yes, it appears that if one heads east from Diaz Pass, the Owens Valley floor can be achieved by a known route that follows Diaz Creek some near the end. Take a look at Walters Starr Jr's map (which accompanies his book) from the 1930's. He depicts a "knapsack route" from the Miter Basin which passes by Upper Soldier Lake, then (probably) passes over Diaz pass to the Valley floor. Of course, many details are missing due to the scale of the map.

Still so much to learn about this remarkable area!

Jim
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Re: TR: Mt. Langley attempt from Owens Valley, Oct. 2017

Post by JosiahSpurr »

Update:

- Last Monday (May 16th), I made it to the top of Mt. Langley, the first time I've climbed a fourteener (!). Age 56.

- You're right, it was reasonable to get to Langley once behind x3153. And * totally * spectacular from 3153 to 3625.

- And from 3153 to Langley is relatively easy, relative to the first leg that is from the car to x3153.

- I guess it could be considered a new route, but, I'm sure it's been done, before. I once read about a guy who was well-known for traversing ridges in the Eastern Sierras, he probably followed the same route. The saddle within a hundred feet of 3153 has two stone structures about a foot high that look like tables. This saddle is at the top of the second ravine on the left, described below. I suppose it's a new route among the routes that have been previously described online, but I haven't looked online that much to find a TR for this exact same route, and I assume guide books that don't specifically include ridge routes would never have it.

- On the two previous trips I made it to the ridge, which is also the boundary line of John Muir Wilderness, too far to the right of 3153 (trip 1 of 3), and too far to the left (2 of 3), when looking for the ravine on the east face of 3153 that would end closest to that peak.

- The two ridges mentioned above (trips 1 and 2) are also the same as the boundary for John Muir Wilderness and, furthermore, the two ridges define the east face of 3153. (But, IMO, much of the upper portion of the east face should have been included in the JMW).

- The third, and final, ravine I ascended on Saturday intersects the ridge (between 3153 and Tuttle Creek) within 100 feet to the NW of the peak. I stayed left of center in that ravine, and near the top I had to crawl under two boulders that had leaned against one another in the shape of a perfect triangle, with my Kelty external pack still on my back.

- Starting from the bottom:

- I drove off Granite View Road onto the dirt road and parked next to the huge pine tree inside the long turn-around loop ( -118.1712 / 36.5580; Elevation: 6362 Feet; Source: 3DEP 1/3 arc-second) within spittin' distance of Tuttle Creek.

- I bushwhacked through the pines going south, and stayed below the large rock outcrop (below 2200m) instead of passing above it, because it's much easier to get into the middle of the bottom of the drainage that's on the east face of 3153 as soon as possible.

- I ascended the east face drainage and made a sharp right at a massive granite ledge, which could be the flat top of a buried boulder (the east side of the ledge/boulder overhangs and has shade). The bend appears on the topographic map because there's a blue line marking a "stream" but it's dry, unless there's a storm.

(Footnote: any blue line, scribed at the higher elevations, on a U.S.G.S. topo that means "stream" means nothing unless there's a "*Spring" marked upstream on the map, also in blue..... note to self for future project..... Springs of the E Sierra..... including, most certainly, that one that isn't on the map that's SW of The Ashram..... ).

- Just above this, the first left ravine splits off (see "trip 2" above). The uppermost portion of this ravine is spectacular, verging on "holy." It's in my bag of special places, and moments, in the Sierra. But, on the other side of the saddle, inside the JM Wilderness, and along the upper edge of the Diaz Creek drainage, the small maple-like trees form a thicket that's too dense for me and my pack. The branches are extremely stiff (!) and close together.

- Skipping the left ravine, the main ravine continues up and features a massive feature that looks like a pointed dome. Before reaching it, another left ravine splits off the main ravine. Ascending this one is the way to 3153. The second ravine on the left turns out to be the main ravine, with the highest saddle (within a hundred feet of the peak). In it, the dome turns out to be the weathered end of a long cliff or wall that looks like a dome from below. The ravine that passes directly next to the ridge that looks like a pointy dome from below ("trip 1" above), should be considered the right ravine ("down-graded" from status of "main ravine") even though it goes straight and looks like the main ravine.

- (NOTE: The same illusion, of a side canyon appearing to be the longest canyon with the highest end-point, happens in North Fork Lubken Creek. The saddle near Owens Point seems to be the beginning of the N. Fork, but, it's easy to miss the "side" canyon that goes towards the Whooleyback where the N. Fork really starts.)

- From the saddle at the top of the second left ravine, peak 3153 is the rock mound on the left, not the one on the right.

- (WARNING: That's the end of the section where an injury is most likely due to the extreme slope and bouldery nature of the east face of 3153.)

- From there, heading towards x3625, there are many large flat "beaches" of sand with large trees. The trees are even larger to the left, on the Diaz side. There are no trees to mention on the Tuttle side (the north facing slope). Unfortunately, there was a fire along Diaz Creek recently, near the creek. The dead trees can be seen from 395. And from the Langley Ridge.

- After rising above the sandy beaches, just head up to 3625. The ridge is symmetrical to both sides. Lots of rocks and boulders and some short trees. Eventually, the view of what's up ahead gets shorter and shorter, and since there's no false summit (even the topo countour lines say so), the peak is reached as expected. There was plenty of snow along this leg.

- From 3625 to Langley, it's a "straight shot" (elevation gain 650m/ 2,132 feet). I slept in "The Langley Room" at about 3900m on Sunday evening. I had seen it before, but wasn't sure where it was. It's near the top of the smooth part of the ridge that has a bird's eye view of Tuttle Creek, and is at the start of the really rocky section where one must dip down, to the left, to access to lower rim of the massive basin that's directly E of Diaz Pass. The basin is still packed in snow, but the huge and dangerous snow cornice that forms each winter, from the snows being blown over Diaz Pass by winds from the Kern Valley, has melted away. If the cornice is there towards the middle of winter, it may be a good idea to NOT make the dip left into the massive basin and up to Diaz Pass (where to cornice has formed), rather, make the straight shot even straighter, and really reduce horizontal distance, by "just" going literally straight up Langley's East Face- which looked way to snowy and technical for me, and which would deny the traveller of the unequalled views to the west (my favorite is the view towards the Kaweahs!) as seen from the people's trail, between New Army Pass and Langley.

- MOUNT LANGLEY. The number stamped into the metal, round benchmark says "14,042," but it's a number of feet below the top of the summit block, and even more feet to the south of the highest granite particles. Don't wander anywhere north of there without wearing a harness attached to an anchored rope, with prusik. The routes up the north face, nearly vertical, go for about 1,500 feet.

- *

- Going to upload pictures to my albums website (josiah dot piwigo dot com). See "Mt. Langley- May 2022".

- In "Elevation," the mountaineering store at 395 and Whitney Portal Road, I discovered a magazine with an article about Paul Preuss, who served a ro'le during his generation, in Europe (before dying at age 27 in 1913), akin to Royal Robbins. I like to believe that by climbing Langley from the end of a dirt road next to Tuttle Creek (6,360 feet) without a trail I am continuing a tradition. I did intersect the trail from New Army Pass to Langley and followed the trail (scampered amongst the rocks) marked by the four 10' rock cairns that were put there to contain the plethora of use trails.

- On that note, I didn't take the trail during the descent. I went bighorn sheep mode. Staying left along the ridge above the wide, flat plain between Diaz Pass and New Army trail, the slope becomes more gradual and a line between the boulders appears that looks like a safe way down to the plain. The sand is populated with bighorn hoof prints.

- I explored the "south face" of Langley, being careful to not drop my camera, or myself to my likely death, down into Cottonwood Lakes Basin. Lake #6 was frozen (as were Iradescent, Meysan and Consultation). The pictures will include a gap in the "south face" at the top of the cliffs above Cottonwood #6, with perfectly flat and parallel sides, which, if I ever climb within it and it is a new rock route, I am going to call, "Who Turned Out the Lights?"

Josiah
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Re: TR: Mt. Langley attempt from Owens Valley, Oct. 2017

Post by JosiahSpurr »

Me thinks I write too much(!) I realize that nobody will be interested in all those details, plus, it's better to find one's own way up the mountain because that involves exploring all the nooks and crannies. So, yes, I'm going to establish a new route to the top of Langley by sticking to the ridge that starts on the upper edge of Owens Valley 100% of the way. (P.S. Andy Lewicky is a good writer, I just discovered a TR at sierradescents dot com).
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