Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) firmly believes in doing the undoable, and this time it has proved its prowess through Google Maps. The company has showcased the first vertical Street View of World famous rock wall El Captain in Yosemite National Park, giving an opportunity to anyone and everyone to experience a virtual climb of the 3,000 feet tall cliff.
Real-like imagery
By accessing the vertical street view of El Captain on Google Maps, people from any corner of the world, will be able to ascend the tallest rock virtually. Google partnered with photographers and legendary climbers Lynn Hill, Alex Honnold and Tommy Caldwell to assemble the full imagery for its Maps service. As Caldwell puts it, the vertical street view is closest to climbing the rock itself. He hopes that the virtual climb will encourage people to visit and climb El Captain themselves.
Videos and more
By doing so, Google has once again proved its mettle in accomplishing the project in a phenomenal way. The street view includes a 360-degree panoramic view of climbers making their way up the wall and their rest periods during the night. Google Inc has also pinned an extensive account of the tale of the climb on its blog and has added behind the scenes videos to help viewers connect with the whole experience.
Apart from this, the team has also created a Yosemite Treks page to share the details of climbing El Captain and the appropriate gears to use, which will help the future climbers. The vertical street view will help people to learn about Yosemite even if they fail to visit the place for real.
Though the vertical street view is currently compiled for only El Captain, but Google’s representative Susan Cadrecha has assured that they will continue to explore and add similar projects to its Street View feature.
Sources: googleblog
