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Old Army Pass on June 28

Old Army Pass

Thanks Mescalito...perfect!!

Did Langley by way of OLD ARMY PASS on July 4th. Thanks to a crew of 20 expert Koreans who preceded us we had passable conditions over about 80 feet of hard-packed snow near the top. With microspikes and trekking poles we felt comfortable up and down. Until there is further melt I would NOT recommend this route without gripping soles (not running shoes) and poles. The shortest slide down is 15 feet into a boulder, the longest...well, it would ruin your day/life. By the way, we assisted on a helicopter rescue at about 13,500 feet. A lady, hiking alone was the last to descend Langley when she had an accident that probably broke her tibia. She butt-scooted down to a cairn and spent the night! Luckily, it was a relatively MILD night. The next day the Koreans found her and pushed the 911 button on their SPOT, followed up with a 911 cellphone call from the summit and 2 hours after pushing the button a rescue chopper swung in from the Western Sierras to pick her up. She was in amazingly good shape. Good for her as the night of her rescue was stormy, very wet and COLD!!! I fear she would not have fared so well.

Any update on conditions on Old Army Pass?

Are microspikes still advised? I am watching this thread intently. I'm headed up there soon.

Any help is appreciated.

Michael

tectorgorch: sorry if my June 29 post was misleading. On June 28, we easily bypassed the snow, by doing some short Class 2/3 scrambles.

No prob Mescalito...saw the scrambles around but it looked safe enough given our level of experience and gear. We'll be doing both passes next weekend with an expectation of BETTER conditions on Old Army based on rain/warming/melt.

Just wanted to circle back on this: My group went up Old Army Pass on July 22. There was a patch of snow near the top of the pass but enough has thawed so as to clear a small path to walk without having to touch the snow. The trail was in great shape. We had wonderful weather and made it to Mt. Langley's summit. But the highlight for me was the Old Army Pass--what a wonderful trail and view from the top!

Michael

So, what kind of shape is the trail in? And I'm not as much interested in snow (which I think will be a non issue in August) as I am in the condition of the trail itself.

I've heard two different things:
1. That the trail is nearly as good as a maintained trail; no problems.
2. There's a slide over the trail that you have to scramble over.

Perhaps the report of the slide is old and a trail has been worked in simply by the passage of feet?

I have a friend coming with me who does not like loose traverses or heights. I'm just trying to get a sense of the trail.

Thanks,

HJ

Hi, Jim.

I agree with #1.

I’ll defer to others on what is officially meant by “unmaintained,” but I consider the trail to be in great shape. To me, it is “unmaintained” in the sense that it is not meticulously groomed, therefore you have some small to medium sized loose rocks found on the trail. Nor will you see any signs of physical repairs (at least, I didn’t) like reinforcements holding sections together.

We did not have to scramble. There were maybe 1 or 2 spots where you need a little extra effort to get over some larger rocks, but I wouldn’t consider it scrambling. Now, near the top, there is a little area that still had snow that is not an issue and is easy to pass now. This is probably the "slide" area to which you refer. I believe others were scrambling around that area or use microspikes to go over the snow. But neither maneuver is needed now.

The trail is somewhat narrow but I never felt unsafe due to that or loose footing. That being said, it’s not a trail to be careless on and going downhill requires adequate attention.

I hope this helps. Have a great hike. I really did enjoy the Old Army Pass tremendously.

Michael

Thanks, Michael, for the detailed reply. Sounds like it should be no problem. I was just worried about traversing slides or really airy stretches which is sounds like there are neither.

HJ