High Above the Fray

Overview

.    This route follows the long, long, long ridge that starts on the uppermost western edge of Owens Valley, between creeks Diaz and Tuttle, and ends on top of the 14,025' peak, Mt. Langley.  I don't know whether it's been climbed before. Additionally, haven't done the entire route myself, since I haven't done the first and last sections (the hardest). The last section is (somewhere) next to the Northeast Colouir from about 12,000' on up. The first section (about 6,000 to 10,000') is the hardest, from the edge of Owens Valley to peak x3153, and exists as a conceptual route that may be beyond this author's lifetime abilities. The easy route to x3153, not part of this route "High Above the Fray," is documented as a separate (nameless) route on this website. 

.    Inspirational credit is gratefully acknowledged to a mountaineer who earned a reputation for climbing ridges in the Eastern Sierra. I read about him on the Internet but can't remember his name. Further information on him would be greatly appreciated.  I would also like to thank Old Ranger (at HighSierraTopix) for words of encouragement meant for anyone willing to explore the spectacular wilderness for miles in all directions from Mt. Langley.  I would thank anyone with better class 5 rock climbing skills who would like to help establish the ridge route up to x3153. There are specimens of rock and plant life (Rumi) tucked away in the rugged escarpment that are just plain special.  Send to josiah fastmail fm 

.    Photos will be added incrementally as the route is pieced together. Some will be lifted from my May 2022 climb that includes the sections from peak x3153 to the base of Langley's east face (see external link, below). 

.    (There's another potential ridge route to Langley which is less direct: the ridge south of Diaz Creek, to the Wooleyback, to x0000 then over to Langley.) 

.    What does it mean to climb a mountain? Consider Mt. Shasta, a potentially active volcano and 14er that pops-up out of an expansive flat "plain" that reminds me of the "desert islands" of Sonoran Desert (Arizona).  Everyone can see the base of the mountain whether from a north, south, east or west direction. Consider Mt. Langley or any 14er on the Sierra Crest. Where's the base? Not to the north, or south. What would it be from the west? From the east, the purist in me thinks the base of Langley is at the bottom of the Sierra Nevada escarpment, third steepest in the lower 48, where Owens Valley ends and the escarpment begins. 

.     What does it mean "into the fray"? A fight, struggle, or disagreement that involves many people.  Many people have struggled to the summit of Langley. For many, driving a motor vehicle to the parking lot at Horseshoe Meadows (at about 10,000 feet, one of the highest parking lots in the Sierra), then a long, flat trail to Cottonwood Lakes, then one of the many routes up to Langley uses up all their energy, or time. They have certainly summited the mountain, but did they climb it?  No, if the base of the mountain is 4,000 vertical feet below the parking lot(!). 

.    Alas, where is the base of the Sierra N. escarpment? Buried far, far beneath highway U.S. 395..... according to a interpretive sign in Death Valley.  Thousands of vertical feet of mountain debris have filled in much of Owens Valley since the Sierra stopped its upward rise. With age sometimes comes more "free time." Some day, I'd like to take the ridge route to Langley starting from Highway 395 (safely, of course, from the southbound shoulder, not the yellow middle line). 

Thanks for reading.  By the way, why did Norman Clyde wear shoes with spikes attached to the bottoms? He carried an anvil for repairs!

Getting There

Go to the end of Granite View Road. Follow Diaz Creek (upstream ) as it meanders to the SW to about lat. and long.:

36.540, -118.146

There begins the hardest sections (beginning with sect. A), leaving the steep but flat sandy bottom of Owens Valley for peak x3153.  It might be just a jumble of rocks without a definite ridge line. Go left? Go right? will be the persistent question. Close scrutiny of aerial photography might save a lot of trouble route-finding in the field. 

Route Description

Essential Gear

Water is the most important essential gear. Most water will need to be melted from ice and snow. The ideal time of year for this route is when most of the snowpack had melted, but patches of snow can still be seen from Owens Valley. On the descent, whether via Cottonwood Lakes or Tuttle Creek, water can be found in less than six (6) hours from the summit. If descending via Tuttle, water is guaranteed at the natural spring shown on the USGS topo map near the bottom of the "avalanche chute" (or "So. Fork of So. Fork Tuttle Creek") which has the old trail between So. Fork Tuttle Creek and the Langley east ridge.  (I went this way in May '22 from 14,025 to my car at about 6,600 in thirteen [13] hours.)

Since "High Above the Fray" follows a ridge, snow and ice equipment should not be needed if most of last winter's snow has melted. After soloing parts of this route (except the difficult first and last sections) and bagging my first 14er (Langley) on Monday, May 16, 2022, I later learned of a fatality that happened the day before I got to the top. A party of four (4) were using one of the "normal" (as in, "don't be normal"!) routes out of Cottonwood Lakes. The deceased fell while crossing a steep "glacier" and perished at the bottom. This type of risk, responsible for so many mountaineering deaths, is avoided by "High Above the Fray."  Note how many climbers seem to be in a big rush to bag Langley, thinking that it's OK to drive up to the 10,000 HM parking lot.... OK to do the 3am early start... but, won't there be someone who didn't have enough time to get used to the high elevation, which can increase the chance of an accident?

Previous experience hiking above 10 thousand up to 14 thousand feet without getting sick is essential, especially if Horseshoe Meadow Road is closed for the winter, cutting off, in case of trouble, the potential availability of helpful co-hikers who drove up to Golden Trout Wilderness. On the other hand, the slow, slow, slow going it takes to ascend 7,000+ feet provides plenty of time and gradual increase to acclimatize to high elevation according to one's bodily ability. 

External Links

https://josiah.piwigo.com/