Mount Langley

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Mountain in California, United States

title: "Mount Langley" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["fourteeners-of-california", "mountains-of-sequoia-national-park", "mountains-of-the-john-muir-wilderness", "mountains-of-inyo-county,-california", "mountains-of-tulare-county,-california", "mountains-of-northern-california"] description: "Mountain in California, United States" topic_path: "general/fourteeners-of-california" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Langley" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Mountain in California, United States ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox mountain"]

Field	Value
name	Mount Langley
photo	MountLangley.jpg
elevation_ft	14032
elevation_ref
prominence_ft	1165
prominence_ref
parent_peak	Mount Whitney
listing	{{unbulleted list
California fourteeners 9th{{cite peakbagger	lid
Sierra Peaks Section<ref name	"sps"
Western States Climbers Star peak<ref name	"wsc"
Vagmarken Sierra Crest List<ref name	"vagmarken" }}
map	California
map_caption	none
map_size	200
location	Inyo and Tulare counties, California, U.S.
range	Sierra Nevada
coordinates
coordinates_ref
topo	USGS Mount Langley
first_ascent	Unknown, but prior to 1871
easiest_route	Hike from New Army Pass on the south,
::

| name = Mount Langley | photo = MountLangley.jpg | photo_caption = | elevation_ft = 14032 | elevation_ref = | prominence_ft = 1165 | prominence_ref = | parent_peak = Mount Whitney | listing = {{unbulleted list | California fourteeners 9th | Sierra Peaks Section | Western States Climbers Star peak | Vagmarken Sierra Crest List }} | map = California | map_caption = none | map_size = 200 | location = Inyo and Tulare counties, California, U.S. | range = Sierra Nevada | coordinates = | coordinates_ref = | topo = USGS Mount Langley | first_ascent = Unknown, but prior to 1871 | easiest_route = Hike from New Army Pass on the south,

Mount Langley is a mountain located on the crest of the Sierra Nevada, on the boundary between Inyo and Tulare counties in eastern California, in the United States. To the east is the Owens Valley, and to the west is the Kern River Valley. It is the ninth-highest peak in the state and the seventh-highest in the Sierra. Mount Whitney, the highest peak in the contiguous United States, lies 4.8 mi to the northwest. Mount Langley also has the distinction of being the southernmost fourteener in the United States.

History

Today, the mountain is named after Samuel Pierpont Langley. In the early 1870s, it was confused with Mount Whitney by early climbers, and called by this name. When the mistake was realized, the peak was alternately called Mount Corcoran, Cirque Peak, or Sheep Mountain; the former two names being later attached to other mountains. But its current name became established in local usage, and was made official by the Board on Geographic Names in 1943.

Climbing

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e5/Epic_(3955143048).jpg" caption="View of buttes from summit"] ::

Mount Langley is one of the easiest of California's fourteeners to climb. A hiking trail starts at nearby Horseshoe Meadow, at an elevation of about 10000 ft, passes scenic Cottonwood Lakes, and climbs through New Army Pass. From there hikers travel cross-country to Old Army Pass, where they may pick up the recently constructed Class 1 Mount Langley Trail, which follows a series of large rock cairns for the two mile push to the summit. New Army Pass is 7 mi from the trailhead at Horseshoe Meadow and is an easier but longer approach to Langley than Old Army Pass via Cottonwood Lakes Trail.

Due to the elevation, both passes are covered with snow most of the year. New Army Pass sits on a south-facing slope and it tends to clear of snow somewhat earlier in the season. Old Army Pass is only clear of snow for less than two months per year, from mid-August to early October. During the winter months, even the paved road to Horseshoe Meadow is closed, making the summit significantly harder to reach.

The first recorded climb of the mountain was in 1871 by Clarence King and the French mountaineer Paul Pinson.

Climate

|location = Mount Langley 36.5192 N, 118.2388 W, Elevation: 13159 ft (1991–2020 normals) |single line = y

|source=PRISM Climate Group{{cite web |url= http://prism.oregonstate.edu/explorer/ |title= PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University |publisher= PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University |access-date= October 8, 2023 |quote= To find the table data on the PRISM website, start by clicking Coordinates (under Location); copy Latitude and Longitude figures from top of table; click Zoom to location; click Precipitation, Minimum temp, Mean temp, Maximum temp; click 30-year normals, 1991-2020; click 800m; click Retrieve Time Series button. |archive-date= July 25, 2019 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190725164937/http://prism.oregonstate.edu/explorer/ |url-status= live

Routes

Old Army Pass
New Army Pass
Thompson Pass Route-

References

{{cite peakbagger
{{cite peakbagger
{{cite peakbagger
{{cite sps
{{cite wsc
{{cite vagmarken
{{cite gnis
{{cite Secor
{{cite Farquhar
"California 14ers - Guided Summit Climbs with AAI".
"Climbing Mount Langley?". [[National Park Service]].
"Mount Langley in Sequoia National Park". Hikespeak - Sierra Nevada Mountains.
Hill, Mary. (2006). "Geology of the Sierra Nevada". University of California Press.
https://www.summitpost.org/thompson-pass-route/1008991

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::