Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Actual elevation of Mt. Whitney?

I'm sure this question has been asked and answered before, but given all of the different numbers used for the elevation of Mt. Whitney (e.g., 14,494 vs. 14,496.811 vs. 14,497.61), can anyone tell me whether there is an "accepted" elevation and what the basis of that number is?

The "U.S. Coast & Geodetic Survey Benchmark" on the top reads 14,497.51... I'm sure someone will reply with something else..

Chris

The elevation has varied over the years as increasingly accurate methods of measurement have been applied to the summit. Early on the height was thought to be over 15,000 feet. Later surveys around the end of the 19th century put the height at 14,491 feet. Since that time the height has slowly inched up as new surveys have been applied. For around 40 years the height was listed at 14,494. In the 1970's the height was 14,495 and then in the 80's 14,496.81 feet. The latest height is 14,497.61 feet (or 14,498 feet if you round to the nearest foot). If you stand on the higher boulders on the summit your head will be over 14,500 feet above sea level.

I don't have a detailed answer about the basis for the latest height as I am not a surveyor, but I can tell you that part of the reason that the earlier measurements were off is that the theodolytes used to measure the angle of elevation can be moved by the mass of the mountain itself and there is an art in compensating for the tendancy of this mass to skew the measurements. I believe the latest measurement was done using GPS information, but I could be wrong. I do know that the 14,497.61 value is the USGS current standard.

I think if you stand on the rock that the plaque is on, you climbed 14,497 feet. But if you only stood next to the plaque, it is 14,494 feet. If a few people would get together and stack a couple of the bigger rocks on top of that rock, I think it wouldn't be too hard to make the mountain over 14,500 feet. Also, I think everytime someone throws a rock into the ocean, that makes sea level a little higher, so Mt. Whitney is a little shorter. Stacking some rocks on the top would help fight this problem.

I put a rock on top of the highest slab back on June 28 and stood on it, so I got 14,498.23 feet. I wonder if the roof of the summit hut is higher? Maybe if you climb one of the lightning rods....

In any case, I think my daughter threw enough rocks into the Pacific at Seaside, Oregon two weekends ago to significantly affect Whitney's height, so the next guy up will have to use a bigger rock to beat my elevation.

Andreas Hinterstoisser has been hauling rocks down from the summit in his backpack so it is probably actually getting shorter. I don't know if he's gotten to the rock that has the plaque on it yet. Maybe we should all carry rocks up and bury that one so it won't get swiped.

Thanks for the replies, everyone - especially SpankyBob. I've added the word theodolyte to my vocabulary (kind of sounds like a dinosaur). At least the commemorative replica of the USGS pin I bought at the Portal Store has the right numbers on it! Makes me think I should climb Whitney again in 10 years or so, when it will probably rise above 14,500 feet no matter how many rocks Andreas carries away.

Just FYI, here's an interesting link re this subject that I came across awhile back from the Nevada State Archives:

http://dmla.clan.lib.nv.us/docs/nsla/archives/myth/myth97.htm

I leave it to you to evaluate it's merit. ;-)

The Sierra Nevada shrinks due to erosion by something like 1.5 feet per 1000 years. It is also being forced upward by something like 13 feet per 1000 years. Obviously, the net effect is growth, at an average rate of 0.14 inches per year. It is not too surprising that the height of 14,494 feet claimed for Whitney when I first climbed it in 1971 is still being used (along with various other similar numbers). However, one wonders about an "official" figure like 14,497.61 feet. We'd better see that change at least every few years!

It's moving!

Diaz Lake wasn't there 150 years ago and now it is there.

20 million years ago Mt. Whitney wasn't there, either.

It's moving!