Mount Langley

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Mount Langley
Mount Langley, looking northwest from Cottonwood Lakes (NFS)
Elevation	14,026 feet (4,275 m)
Location	California, USA
Range	Sierra Nevada
Prominence	1,198 feet (365 m)
Coordinates	36°31′24″N 118°14′17″W / 36.52333, -118.23806Coordinates: 36°31′24″N 118°14′17″W / 36.52333, -118.23806
Topo map	USGS Mount Langley
First ascent	unknown, but prior to 1871^[1]
Easiest route	South Side: hike/scramble

Mount Langley is located on the crest of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, on the border of Inyo and Tulare counties, in eastern California in the southwestern United States. To the east is Owens Valley, and to the west is the Kern River Valley. At 14,026 feet (4,275 m), it is the ninth highest peak in the state, and the seventh highest in the Sierras. Mount Whitney, the highest peak in the contiguous United States, lies 5 miles (8 km) to the northwest. The Geological survey marker at the summit shows an elevation of 14,042 feet.

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 USGS.

Mount Langley is one of the easiest of California's fourteeners to climb. A hiking trail starts at nearby Horseshoe Meadow (elevation of around 10,000 feet), passes scenic Cottonwood Lakes, and climbs through New Army Pass. From there climbers make their way across a mountain meadow and up a long gradual slope of rock and gravel before making a Class 2 scramble to the summit. New Army pass is 7 miles from the trail head at Horseshoe meadow and is a more difficult approach to Langley than Old Army Pass, which is recommended for hikers to Langley when the trail is not impassable due to snow.