Mt. Langley trip, October 2017.
The group (Myself, Mike and David) wanted to climb a 14er, but we also liked the idea of visiting Death Valley, so this trip was put together to do both.
Most people visit Lone Pine California to climb Mt. Whitney, the tallest mountain in the lower 48, however we didn’t win the ticket lottery. More importantly, the climb for Mt. Langley is actually more scenic, so we opted for this peak instead.
The Itinerary
- Meet in Las Vegas Wednesday night.
- Travel to Lone Pine and the Alabama Hills (Mobius Strip) on Thursday. Save a Guys Life
- Climb to basecamp Friday morning.
- Summit Mt. Langley and return to the car on Saturday.
- Travel to Death Valley on Saturday/Sunday.
- Fly home on Monday from Las Vegas.
Photos
Enjoy!
To Lone Pine, Notables:
The drive was great first of all. We passed a giant sand dune in the desert and went to investigate. This was miles away from a highway, and we have 4 wheel drive. The route was a combination of gravel, desert rock and loose dune sand. After driving/hiking out to the dune, we returned to find a guy in a Nissan Altima that had driven into the desert to the dunes and gotten stuck in the sand. He did this with no water, no food, no boots, khaki pants and a polo shirt. It was sunny, ~90 degrees and miles from civilization. We got him out of the sand and on his way, and may have saved his life.
After this, we drove through the north end of Death Valley, and ascended the other side to great views of the valley. The Mobius Arch was next after arriving at Lone Pine, CA, and we did the hike with beers, obviously.
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Mt. Langley:
The morning of the climb Lone Pine lost power due to high winds. We should have recognized this as an issue. When we returned to Las Vegas the next days we even discovered that they lost power from the same system hundreds of miles away. We had to get our permits with a manual paper system due to the power outage, and asked the ranger that morning what the forecast was (from the previous day when they had power).
Us: What’s the forecast at 12k?
Ranger: What route?
Us: Mt. Langley to Old Army Pass
Ranger: hahahaha!
Us: No, really.
Ranger: Oh…Um, Cold, Snow, lots of wind. Goodluck. Oh, and windy, and cold.
Anyway, we ate breakfast in the dark and started up the mountain. Around sunset at basecamp the temp dropped into the single digits? Not sure exactly but below freezing. The wind picked up and was gusting around tropical storm force at least. Hard enough that we were having trouble keeping our tents staked into the ground, and had to build rock berms to keep them from tearing/blowing away. I watched the wind blow a 4″ diameter rock down the hill. David and Mike found giant rocks to set their tents behind. Since i had the only true 4-season tent rated for cold/wind, I took the spot with a small rock wall that I had to build up a little taller. Around 6 it was cold enough we all called it a night and sheltered. We awoke around 5am and started for the summit around 6am.
Death Valley:
Awesome. Cathedral Peaks, Devils Golf Course, Badwater Basin, Mustard Hills.
-Tim