Mt Whitney Zone Forums General Discussion Mt. Langley or White Mt Peak, Oct 4&5

Chevy,

It's October and if there are not a slew of walk ins not left over this weekend I would be surprised. Don't worry about getting a permit.

Many going up to the Sierra this coming weekend are interested in one thing...the aspens, not the high peaks.

63: It's October! There is a quota of 60 on the Cottonwood lakes trail, 24 are held back for walk-in requests. There is NO WAY you will not get the permits you need if you show up.

I am sure lots of people reserved the permits back when summer was in full swing, and you can be sure half of them have already decided not to go.

Now that the permits are handled online by a nationwide system, it is high time they start giving out partial refunds for cancellations. I am sure that would free up a lot of slots in the future.

I hope (and assume) you guys are right. There were 18 permits when I looked last week and figured there was no way all of the reserveable permits would be used up. I was a litle shocked when I checked yesterday!

If I get my vehicle back in time and everyone doesn't bail on this trip, I'm going

As a side note, have any of you hiked Mt Gould? How dangerous is the exposure on the summit block?

What about Cloudripper? Is there a use trail or a somewhat obvious route to the summit? I have been looking at the North Slope 'route.'

You worry too much. Forget Langley, I've never had walk-in problems with Whitney even on the Labor Day weekend once.

Never did Gould. See link for a route to Cloudripper from one of my friends:
http://mcquilken.smugmug.com/Mountaineer...8&k=LNZr3Sw

I've only done the West Side and you'll need to scramble for that. You should try Agassiz. The approach is short and straightforward.

I do! It is one of my biggest and most annoying flaws. I blame it on too much idle time sitting at a desk during the day, waiting for something 'bad' to happen.

Thanks for the pics. I will look up Agassiz.


I've been comparing the temps recorded at CWD (~10k ft elevation) with the forecast for the area. CWD is consistently getting temps 10 lower than the forecast. Is it reasonable to estimate the temperature on Langley's summit is 10-20 degrees cooler?

> I've been comparing the temps recorded at CWD (~10k ft elevation) with the forecast for the area.

Which forecast are you looking at?

I follow the -4 degree for every thousand feet rule and it's been close. Based on that, you should expect the temps in your predictions for Langley if not even lower due to wind chill factor.

EDIT:
You might find useful-
http://mtsanjacinto.info/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=4938

I've been using forecast.gov and mountainforecast.com. For example, for the low temp Fri night (Sept 26):

forecast.gov prediction @ 10,000 ft: 36 degrees
mountainforecast prediction @ 11484 ft: 28 degrees

CWD observed low @ 10150 ft: 23 degrees
The guy that took the photos I posted said it dipped into the teens Friday night at the Cottonwood Lakes where he camped.




I believe I've read 3-5 degrees per 1,000 ft depending on humidity and cloud cover. I usually go with 5 degrees.

Thanks - Sounds like he was on the trail at the same time as the hiker that took the photos above.

A friend of mine has a similar story from Rabbit Peak a couple of years ago. He joined a group for the hike, going with people that had completed the hike several times. They got stuck in a bad storm. The leaders were 'map & compass only guys (oddly enough they left them at home),' but due to the very poor visibility, my friend ended up leading the group off the mountain using the 'backtrack' feature on his GPS. It was a good reminder to be self-sufficient, even when going with experienced hikers.

Do Langley!

Either way, can now get free California fire permit online. If you Google it, it will take you to the site where you have to watch a quick little video and then you print out your permit.

http://www.preventwildfireca.org/Campfire-Permit/

First off, don't worry about the permits in the Horseshoe Meadow area...there are more ways to skin cat there, period. There will be a walk-in permit for you.

Mt. Gould...Yes, there is exposure at the top, not a lot but it is exposed. This can be done as a day hike.

Cloudripper Peak...I did it through Big Pine Lakes. Simple route we made more difficult by collective stupidity on the way up. The last part is class 3 but I never felt at risk. We righted our mistakes on the way down, making the thing a lot easier. An all day affair from Lake #3.

Thanks for the help everyone. My vehicle will not be ready in time for the trip. I guess this one will have wait until next year