View source for Mount Langley

{{short description|Mountain in California, United States}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox mountain
| name = Mount Langley
| photo = MountLangley.jpg
| photo_caption = 
| elevation_ft = 14032
| elevation_ref = {{NAVD88}}<ref name="pb">{{cite peakbagger |pid=2845 |name=Mount Langley, California |accessdate=2009-01-20}}</ref>
| prominence_ft = 1165
| prominence_ref = <ref name="pb"/>
| parent_peak = [[Mount Whitney]]<ref name="pbkc">{{cite peakbagger |kid=2845 |name=Key Col for Mount Langley |accessdate=2016-03-23}}</ref>
| listing = {{unbulleted list
  | [[List of California fourteeners|California fourteeners]] 9th<ref>{{cite peakbagger |lid=21319 |name=California 14,000-foot Peaks |accessdate=2016-03-23}}</ref>
  | [[Sierra Peaks Section]]<ref name="sps">{{cite sps |accessdate=2009-08-12}}</ref>
  | Western States Climbers Star peak<ref name="wsc">{{cite wsc |accessdate=2016-03-24}}</ref>
  | Vagmarken Sierra Crest List<ref name="vagmarken">{{cite vagmarken |access-date=2021-11-10}}</ref> }}
| map = California
| map_caption = none
| map_size = 200
| location = [[Inyo County, California|Inyo]]&thinsp;/&thinsp;[[Tulare County, California|Tulare]] counties, [[California]], U.S.
| range = [[Sierra Nevada (U.S.)|Sierra Nevada]]
| coordinates = {{coord|36.5232685|N|118.2389774|W|type:mountain_region:US-CA_scale:100000_source:GNIS|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
| coordinates_ref = <ref name="gnis">{{cite gnis |id=1654923 |name=Mount Langley |accessdate=2009-01-20}}</ref>
| topo = [[United States Geological Survey|USGS]] Mount Langley
| first_ascent = Unknown, but prior to 1871<ref name="Secor">{{cite Secor |edition=3 |pages=43–44}}</ref>
| easiest_route = Hike from New Army Pass on the south, {{YDS|1}}<ref name="sps"/>
}}

'''Mount Langley''' is a mountain located on the crest of the [[Sierra Nevada (U.S.)|Sierra Nevada]], on the boundary between [[Inyo County, California|Inyo]] and [[Tulare County, California|Tulare]] counties in eastern [[California]], in the [[United States]]. To the east is the [[Owens Valley]], and to the west is the [[Kern River|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 {{convert|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;<ref name="gnis"/><ref name="Farquhar">{{cite Farquhar |index=L |accessdate=2009-01-20}}</ref> 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.<ref name="gnis"/>

==Climbing==
[[File:Epic (3955143048).jpg|thumb|286px|View of buttes from summit]]
Mount Langley is one of the easiest of California's [[fourteener]]s to climb.<ref name="Type">{{cite web |title=California 14ers - Guided Summit Climbs with AAI |website=American Alpine Institute |url=http://www.alpineinstitute.com/catalog/california-fourteeners-climbs/ |access-date=2021-11-10 |archive-date=2021-09-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210923050903/https://www.alpineinstitute.com/catalog/california-fourteeners-climbs/ |url-status=live }}</ref>  A hiking trail starts at nearby Horseshoe Meadow, at an elevation of about {{convert|10000|ft|m|0}}, 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 [[Yosemite Decimal System#Classes|Class 1]] Mount Langley Trail, which follows a series of large rock cairns for the two mile push to the summit.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nps.gov/seki/planyourvisit/upload/SEKI_MtLangleyUseTrails_20150611_Final.pdf |title=Climbing Mount Langley? |publisher=[[National Park Service]] |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20170304010249/https://www.nps.gov/seki/planyourvisit/upload/SEKI_MtLangleyUseTrails_20150611_Final.pdf |archivedate=2017-03-04 |accessdate=2020-11-10}}</ref>  New Army Pass is {{convert|7|mi|km|0}} from the trailhead at Horseshoe Meadow and is an easier but longer approach to Langley than Old Army Pass via Cottonwood Lakes Trail.<ref>{{cite web|title=Mount Langley in Sequoia National Park|url=https://www.hikespeak.com/trails/mount-langley-hike-sequoia/|website=hikespeak.com|publisher=Hikespeak - Sierra Nevada Mountains|accessdate=May 11, 2017|archive-date=July 2, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170702035523/https://www.hikespeak.com/trails/mount-langley-hike-sequoia/|url-status=live}}</ref>

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.<ref name="Farquhar"/><ref name="Hill">{{cite book |last=Hill |first=Mary |title=Geology of the Sierra Nevada |publisher=University of California Press |page=99 |year=2006 |edition=revised |isbn=0-520-23696-3}}</ref>

==Climate==
{{Weather box
|location = Mount Langley 36.5192 N, 118.2388 W, Elevation: {{cvt|13159|ft}} (1991–2020 normals)
|single line = y

|Jan high F = 26.3
|Feb high F = 25.1
|Mar high F = 28.0
|Apr high F = 32.8
|May high F = 40.3
|Jun high F = 50.5
|Jul high F = 56.8
|Aug high F = 55.9
|Sep high F = 50.8
|Oct high F = 43.0
|Nov high F = 33.1
|Dec high F = 26.3

|Jan mean F = 17.1
|Feb mean F = 15.3
|Mar mean F = 17.8
|Apr mean F = 21.8
|May mean F = 27.7
|Jun mean F = 36.9
|Jul mean F = 42.9
|Aug mean F = 42.1
|Sep mean F = 38.2
|Oct mean F = 31.4
|Nov mean F = 23.5
|Dec mean F = 17.3

|Jan low F = 7.8
|Feb low F = 5.5
|Mar low F = 7.7
|Apr low F = 10.8
|May low F = 15.1
|Jun low F = 23.3
|Jul low F = 28.9
|Aug low F = 28.2
|Sep low F = 25.5
|Oct low F = 19.8
|Nov low F = 13.9
|Dec low F = 8.3

|precipitation colour = green
|Jan precipitation inch = 8.48
|Feb precipitation inch = 7.04
|Mar precipitation inch = 6.08
|Apr precipitation inch = 4.08
|May precipitation inch = 1.49
|Jun precipitation inch = 0.45
|Jul precipitation inch = 0.43
|Aug precipitation inch = 0.25
|Sep precipitation inch = 0.35
|Oct precipitation inch = 1.92
|Nov precipitation inch = 2.55
|Dec precipitation inch = 8.00

|source=PRISM Climate Group<ref>{{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
}}</ref>
}}

==See also==
* [[List of mountain peaks of California]]
* [[List of California fourteeners]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{cite summitpost |id=150246 |name=Mount Langley}}

{{California Fourteeners}}
{{California}}
{{Sierra Nevada}}
{{Sequoia National Park}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Langley, Mount}}
[[Category:Fourteeners of California]]
[[Category:Mountains of Sequoia National Park]]
[[Category:Mountains of the John Muir Wilderness]]
[[Category:Mountains of Inyo County, California]]
[[Category:Mountains of Tulare County, California]]
[[Category:Mountains of Northern California]]