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Has anyone been up New Army Pass in the last few days? Are crampons and an ax necessary? Is there a cornice at the top? I'll be going up in mid-July and am curious regarding what to expect in this high-snow year. Thanks!
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Joined: Aug 2014
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Hi, I was on the phone with the Eastern Sierra Interagency yesterday because I have a 3 day trip planned for Cottonwood Lakes and Langley on July 13-15 and she told me that the snow levels around the lake and trails is knee to waist-deep and that the melt is causing marsh-like conditions. She said that the snow isn't melting fast enough to be clear on my trip. So I guess that means that the Army passes (especially the Old one) are going to be full of snow for awhile and I will be cancelling my reservation.  Wonder what Whitney will look like on July 27 when I'm supposed to go...
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Joined: Dec 2002
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Not sure who she was, but some friends just went up Old Army and slept on top of Langley and the journey was trivial. About what you would expect for this time of year---just a month later than "normal."
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Joined: Aug 2014
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She didn't say who she was but she mentioned the new snow from the storm on the 16th as the factor. Did your friends go up recently? And did they happen to say how much snow on the pass?
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Well, since the identity of "she" couldn't be confirmed, and the odds of anyone on a random phone call having first-hand, boots-on-the-ground intel is dubious at best, I decided to go up there myself yesterday. (Oh, and my friends had been up there right after the "storm" that didn't drop anything that stuck, so that bit is moot.)
(Lots of preamble, huh? You'd probably kinda like some actual info, wouldn't 'cha?)
Well, my boots-on-the-ground info (well, trail runners, actually) is that you're going to need to go out of your way to get into knee- to waist-deep snow right now (with the exception of the last 1/4 to the top of New Army or in a slushy, sun cup stretch that's over a creek and you fall in when everything is mush in the afternoon and you could've easily gone around). So, in 2+ weeks, you're really going to have to travel far off trail to find a spot to numb your belly button. She did have the marsh/swamp description pretty accurate, but that's like saying, "It's going to start getting especially dark once the sun goes down." Obvious, for this time of the cycle in that basin.
So, with my eyeballs from yesterday, and my crystal balls of prognostication for July 13-15, you'll have the normal bits of snow patches en route, and negligible bit of snow slope walk-up (with very deep, established track) for the last 20-35' at the top of NAP bypassing whatever is left of the cornice. Take your axe and crampons just so you can get there and say, "Why did I bring my axe and crampons???" And don't take any bug spray so you can say the same thing in reverse. In the meantime, there will be plenty of people commenting and posting photos as your trip gets closer and the rest of the snow disappears on that slope. So if it were me, I wouldn't cancel my reservation. If anything, I'd double-down and make another reservation just to show "her."
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Is this high-res enough for you? 
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Thanks Jeff.....I had a great laugh this morning seeing your post.
Doug, when did you hire these guys to entertain us? Smart move!!!!
paul
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Does one need to be a Russian Hacker to add drawings to the post?
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That's perfect, Jeff! It's a good example of accuracy versus precision. You should work for the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.
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Joined: Jun 2003
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nap should be NAP...
I thought this is where you had to stop to rest after a hard climb up...
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nap should be NAP...
I thought this is where you had to stop to rest after a hard climb up... I'm still working on my capital letters... ...and yes. The dog actually took two naps while we were out on Saturday, but he's a puppy. I have no excuse.
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While I appreciate the humor in this post, would appreciate an objective assessment of NAP conditions. Thanks.
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While I appreciate the humor in this post, would appreciate an objective assessment of NAP conditions. Thanks. Humorishness, aside, what additional info did you need beyond my write-up? Well, my boots-on-the-ground info (well, trail runners, actually) is that you're going to need to go out of your way to get into knee- to waist-deep snow right now (with the exception of the last 1/4 to the top of New Army or in a slushy, sun cup stretch that's over a creek and you fall in when everything is mush in the afternoon and you could've easily gone around). So, in 2+ weeks, you're really going to have to travel far off trail to find a spot to numb your belly button. She did have the marsh/swamp description pretty accurate, but that's like saying, "It's going to start getting especially dark once the sun goes down." Obvious, for this time of the cycle in that basin.
So, with my eyeballs from yesterday, and my crystal balls of prognostication for July 13-15, you'll have the normal bits of snow patches en route, and negligible bit of snow slope walk-up (with very deep, established track) for the last 20-35' at the top of NAP bypassing whatever is left of the cornice. Take your axe and crampons just so you can get there and say, "Why did I bring my axe and crampons???" And don't take any bug spray so you can say the same thing in reverse.
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Conditions now, not in two weeks. Thanks.
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So, you reached the top of NAP in trail runners without difficulty? Did you continue to the summit of Mt. Langley? If so, were there cairns of adequate size and in sufficient numbers?
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These aren't right this second, but from Saturday: NAP from High Lake  Like I said, a few patches over the switchbacks The upper 1/4 is mostly snow Current track right of the cornice and past the block/tower Zoomed in
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Hmmm...technical difficulties. Hold tight...
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I am holding my breath. Hurry up!!!!!
paul
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