Two most popular routes to Mt. Langley (14,026 ft) starts from Horseshoe Meadows (10,000 ft) via New Army Pass or Old Army Pass, which I have done few times and they are not that scenic until you reach the summit and views to the north opens up. During the winter road to Horseshoe Meadows is closed and only alternative is to start from Turtle Creek (6370 ft).
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| Mt. Langley from Alabama Hills |
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| My backpack |
I decided to camp at Ashram at 7750 ft, which is only 2 miles from the trail head (not quite trail head, but the point where my Prius could reach).
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| Turtle Creek Ashram |
The Ashram or Stone House was build between 1928 and 1948 by Franklin Merrel-Wolff and his wife and now abandon with holes in the roof and graffiti inside. I choose to camp outside under the bright stars on the winter sky.
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| Sunrise |
The trail from Ashram in not obvious at all, I went back to the creek, which was a big mistake, wandered in the thick brush along the river and eventually have to scramble up the steep hill and finally found the trail. This cost me about an extra hour if not more.
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| NE Couloir |
The trail overall is not good at all, fading completely in few places, and my progress was much slower than I would expect.
I think I reached Couloir around 10:00 AM and snow was becoming softer and softer. At one point I was postholing waist deep and eventually gave up and turned around.
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| In the middle of Couloir |
Unless it's super cold day it's better to camp around 10,000 ft and start early from there. There are many good camping spots. Well, I hope I can come back and finish it next time.
