Google adds vertical Street View to Maps starting with Yosemite’s El Capitan rock wall [VIDEO]
Google Maps’ Street View feature was once reserved for the simple purpose of helping people find their way through busy city streets, but it’s changed over the years. We’ve gotten views of national landmarks, parks, inside the White House and even coral reefs underwater.
And now there are vertical views of some of the world’s biggest rocks. The team partnered with expert rock climbers Alex Honnold and Lynn Hill to deliver vertical imagery of the entire height (3,000 solid feet) of Yosemite Park’s El Capitan (and no, it has nothing to do with Apple’s latest Mac OSX update).
The views really are breathtaking, and it’s a great way to check out the exhilaration known as rock climbing without having to do it yourself, which is especially great for someone like me who is deathly afraid of extreme heights.
The video above is cool and all, but you should give it a go on Google Maps for a truly neat experience. Nothing will ever come close to climbing up the real deal, of course, but this is as good as it gets otherwise.
[via Google]