Google offers a virtual ascent of Mont Blanc, thanks to the cardboard !

As you all know, Mont Blanc is one of the world's most beautiful mountains and is the highest mountain in the Alps with the highest peak in Europe. Indeed, not all the people will succeed in reaching the 15,720 feet ascent to its summit.

Thankfully Google has done this climbing reachable to everybody.

Thanks to a Google Street View climbers team, the western Europe's largest mountain has been captured in 360-degree images.

The general life and ecosphere that accompanies the destination has been captured as well as the snowy and icy parts of the mountain, which can be explored in Street View. Ski shops, how athletes compete in the valleys surrounding the mountain, and the most popular routes 20,000 people a year use to traverse the mountain's difficult conditions is now available from everywhere with an internet connection.

There's a serious side to capturing the mountain as well. The Google team also captured how global warming is changing the natural surroundings: images show how glaciers in certain areas of the region are melting.

"So this Street View imagery also serves as a digital record of Mont Blanc as it appears today, so future outdoor enthusiasts and scientists can look back at this time capsule to see how the mountain has changed," Google explained on its blog.

You can also visit with Google Street view six different places as:

-       The White House

-       The Miniatur Wunderland

-       The Carnegie Hall

-       The British Museum

-       The Brazil’s World Cup Stadiums

-       The Palace of Versailles

Thanks to Google, from last month, we can now climb the Mont Blanc in virtual reality with the Cardboard.

Indeed, Google has chosen Paris Match magazine to be the first press title in France to join its Cardboard technology. It will offer an exceptional ascent of Mont Blanc in virtual reality available for its mobile application and distribute 40,000 free Cardboards, an unprecedented initiative in Europe.

Since last November, 20,000 Cardboards have already been ordered by the public via an online registration system and has been delivered between 21 and 28 January. The start of the experiment has been given the Thursday, January 28: the other half of the cardboard boxes  will be distributed with the magazine Paris Match, in selected outlets (Ile de France region, major cities, Chamonix, St Gervais, airports and stations). Users can then view exclusive content available on mobile iOS and Android Paris Match for an experience full immersion on the roof of Europe. The user is guided by the voice of the mountaineers and mountain guide Gabarrou Patrick, who introduced him to the mountain step by step to reach the top.

Through this unique partnership in Europe, Paris Match will allow the general public to enjoy the Google Innovative Technology of virtual reality through an immersive media experience. This will be supported by a promotional 360 degree device on Paris Match (print + digital + off media & Relay partnership). Proof of the great public interest in virtual reality, Paris Match has recorded since the launch of the operation, within 24 hours, more than 18 000 entries online to receive a Cardboard.

Invented by David Coz, the Cardboard allows with a simple cardboard box, lenses and a smartphone to put virtual reality accessible to the general public. Olivier Royant, managing editor of Paris Match: "We are very pleased to partner with Google Cardboard. The power of the image has always been at the heart of Paris Match and virtual reality now includes the ability to go even further by offering an immersive 360 ​​° experience, in which the user becomes an actor of the content. This is an exciting new field that opens on journalistic content. " Edouard Minc, editor of Paris Match, added: "This major operation, is part of the digital transformation of the brand Paris Match. It demonstrates our ongoing commitment to innovate to meet invent new uses and those of tomorrow. This partnership marks a first step, and we aim to continue the development of content in virtual reality. "

You just need to download the Paris Match app, open it on your smartphone and put your smartphone into the Google Cardboard!

How to make it true ?

Here is the link to make it happens from a computer if you don’t have any cardboard : Explore the Mont Blanc from your laptop !