Cirque Peak

"Another Sierra trip in the books! Ever since I climbed Langley, I wanted to bag Cirque Peak as well. We drove up Friday afternoon and camped near Alabama Hills. On Saturday, we met a couple more people from Vegas at the Cottonwood Lakes Trailhead and got started. We hiked over to the Cottonwood Pass Trail and took that to the pass. From there, we ascended the ridge to Trailmaster Peak, then Peak 12525, en route to Cirque Peak. Instead of going back the same way, we hiked around the cirque to New Army Pass and descended down that (there was still some sketchy snow) and took the Cottonwood Lakes Trail back to the car. It was a great hike!" — Kevin • May 15, 2021

"Cirque Peak Traverse! Up New Army Pass and down Cottonwood. The trail is mostly snow-free up to NAP. There are some snowfields to cross, but nothing too difficult until higher up. About 100 ft below the pass, the way is blocked by a steep snow slope - the remnants of a cornice. At that point it was choose your own adventure: To the left was 70 degree snow with a nasty run out. To the right was a class 3/4 crack system. Having brought an ice axe, I climbed the snow, kicking deep, downward sloping steps for security. Once over the pass, the going was easy and the entire ridge all the way to Cottonwood Pass was snow-free. Before dropping down to Chicken Spring Lake, I made the extra hike up Trailmaster, where I ran into 3 female Bighorn Sheep! The bowl above Chicken Spring Lake was also free of snow, making for an easy scree descent to the lake and the PCT. Awesome trip. Total outing time: 8:45 h." — klotito • Jul 3, 2017

"Came over from Langley expecting an easy walk up. The traverse around the top of the cirque took forever and boulder hopping was not so much fun. Damned if I was going to do that again, so I bailed directly down the north ridge. Went much faster and put me back at my camp in less than an hour." — edg • Jun 14, 2015

"Did this as a quick training hike. 2nd time up and the views were still great. Sadly a bit overcast during the day. A bit breezy but not too bad. Chicken Spring Lake is seriously low." — Irrationalist • Jun 7, 2015

"Started our trip at cottonwood pass and explored all 5 cottonwood lakes. We were lucky enough to see some big horned sheep! Ended up camping at high lake. Then we hiked up new army pass, climbed across the endless boulders along the ridge to the top of Cirque Peak! :] Pretty amazing for my first climb! " — Taraibe • May 30, 2015

"After Climbing Mt. Langley we made our way toward Cirque Peak Cross country trekking virtually the entire way. Awesome views from the top! This was my 1st time up here and peak #59 of my 100 in 2014 goal. From here we traversed straight down to High Lake and that was a bitch!" — 1-with-Nature • Aug 17, 2014

"My friend from San Diego was coming up for our bi-monthly hike and beer weekend. First day is the hike so that we can earn our beer for the next day! Going to say I earned my beer, haha. We took the Chicken Spring Lake approach since I have never taken Cottonwood Pass. I usually prefer New Army pass via the Old Cottonwood Trail (less people!). The views on this peak are truly astounding. I wish I had made this more than a day hike so I had more time to enjoy the area." — Irrationalist • Jun 21, 2013

"After spending the night almost directly under this peak, I didn't want to miss the chance to tag it, especially after skipping it last weekend due to building clouds. Holly decided she was spent after Langley so I went after it solo while she hung out at High Lake. Traversed over from New Army Pass taking only 43 minutes. I thought the traverse was actually really nice, as there were many flat boulders to hop from. It wasn't until the last few hundred feet that I got bumped off the crest by some residual snow cornice. Dropped back down to Long Lake taking the North Face direct, which wasn't much fun as the lines to plunge step down were few and usually ran out quickly, making it more of a tedious talus descent for most of the way." — Christopher • Jun 16, 2013