[2] Mount Whitney is the highest peak in the contiguous United States.

The first ascent was on August 16, 1931, by Robert L. M. Underhill of the Appalachian Mountain Club, and Sierra Club climbers Norman Clyde, Jules Eichorn, and Glen Dawson.

[3] By the standards of climbing in California at that time, the route was considered very exposed, especially the famous Fresh Air Traverse.

[4] Steve Roper called this route "one of the classic routes of the Sierra, partly because of its spectacular location and partly because it was the first really big wall to be climbed in the range".

[6] Underhill himself commented that "the beauty of the climb lies chiefly in its unexpected possibility, up the apparent precipice, and in the intimate contact it affords with the features that lend Mount Whitney its real impressiveness".