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Mt Langley
14,027' (4275m) 9th highest in California  2001
Sunrise on Mt. Langley (distant left of center) from the Alabama Hills
Mount Langley is the southern most of California's 14,000ers with the tallest, Mt Whitney being the next about 5 miles to the northwest.
Mt. Langley reflected in one of the Cottonwood Lakes	Langley above the tree top (The L-P on the hillside is for Lone Pine High School)
Mount Langley (2001)                                                     Writing this account twelve years after the fact
I had been up to the first Cottonwood Lake with Ron Mitchell the year before. We had hung out a while at the empty Golden Trout Camp on the way. When Mike and I stopped off briefly at the camp a bear had trashed the place. The eco fools had put a lot of trash in a big plywood box which a bear had torn apart and scattered everywhere. I assume since it was Memorial Day weekend that the camp had been closed since the pervious season and they were too stupid to pack their garbage out. The first day we hiked from the parking area. past the camp and past the first few lakes to Cottonwood Lake # 5 where we made camp. There was a marmot around camp that evening. Mike slept in a tent and I slept under the stars. The next day we made our way north then west up a steep pitch to the gentler ridge approaching the summit block. Near the final summit approach we went to the east side and then back up to the west to the top. The final pitch was rough enough that I had to leave my ski pole in order to climb the rocks. I planned on picking it up on the way down but we came down the south flank which wasn't so rocky. I beat Mike down off the summit block by using sitting glissades (sliding on my ass) while he hiked down further to the west. We worked our way along the gentler ridge until we dropped off west back into the Cottonwood Lakes basin and back to camp. Again I chose to sleep under the stars One the way out the next day we ran into a ranger who inquired about our permit. We made up a factious third member of our party who was trailing behind with the permit and skated by.
Me on summit of Langley (2001)   (Mt. Whitney in the middle background)	Mike on Langley summit  (2001) (  Mt Whitney left background. Mt Williamson middle background)
Summit view back down to Lone Pine	Summit view back down to Cottonwood Lakes     (Olancha Peak distant right)
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