<Tr> <Th> First ascent </Th> <Td> August 18, 1873 by Charles Begole, Albert Johnson, and John Lucas </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Easiest route </Th> <Td> Mount Whitney Trail (class 1) </Td> </Tr> <P> Mount Whitney is not only the highest point in California but also the highest summit in the contiguous United States and the Sierra Nevada, with an elevation of 14,505 feet (4,421 m). . It is on the boundary between California's Inyo and Tulare counties, 84.6 miles (136.2 km) west - northwest of the lowest point in North America at Badwater Basin in Death Valley National Park at 282 ft (86 m) below sea level . The west slope of the mountain is in Sequoia National Park and the summit is the southern terminus of the John Muir Trail which runs 211.9 mi (341.0 km) from Happy Isles in Yosemite Valley . The east slope is in the Inyo National Forest in Inyo County . </P> <P> The summit of Mount Whitney is on the Sierra Crest and the Great Basin Divide . It lies near many of the highest peaks of the Sierra Nevada . The peak rises dramatically above the Owens Valley, sitting 10,778 feet (3,285 m) or just over two miles above the town of Lone Pine 15 miles to the east, in the Owens Valley . It rises more gradually on the west side, lying only about 3,000 feet (910 m) above the John Muir Trail at Guitar Lake . </P>

What is the highest mountain in the lower 48 united states