THE OFFICIAL ELEVATION OF MT. WHITNEY has changed a number of times over the years, from 14,522 (1881) to 14,515 (1903) to 14,502 (1905) to 14,496 (1928). “You’re looking at the pride of the Sierras, brother—Mt. Whitney,” says the gas station attendant to Humphrey Bogart in Raoul Walsh's High Sierra (1941), “14,501 feet above sea level.”

In the 1955 remake, I Died a Thousand Times, the fellow says to Jack Palance: “You’re looking at the High Sierras, mister. Mt. Whitney’s in there… 14,496 feet.” These days, AAA puts it down as 14,494. The Park Service has it at 14,491. The Forest Service—the agency that issues the permits necessary to climb the thing—calls it 14,496, or 14,495.

Any way you slice it, the road's worth driving and the peak's worth humping up. Conditions, regulations, lottery & permit info here.