Latest Google Street View update takes you to the top of the world

So you fancy yourself a bit of a Sir Edmund Hillary but have never had the wherewithal to actually climb a mountain? Then the latest images to be uploaded to Google Street View are tailor-made for you.

The internet giant now allows you to explore some of the most famous mountains on Earth, including Aconcagua (South America), Kilimanjaro (Africa), Mount Elbrus (Europe) and Everest Base Camp (Asia) on Google Maps. These mountains belong to the group of peaks known as the Seven Summits — the highest mountain on each of the seven continents.

In an official blog post detailing the new images, Google seems aware of the fact that the vast majority of people who’ll look at these images will never actually climb any of the peaks on show:

While there’s nothing quite like standing on the mountain, with Google Maps you can instantly transport yourself to the top of these peaks and enjoy the sights without all of the avalanches, rock slides, crevasses, and dangers from altitude and weather that mountaineers face.

According to Google, the imagery was collected with a simple lightweight tripod and digital camera with a fish eye lens. This is the same equipment it usually uses its Business Photos programme, which allows you to explore the inside of buildings using Street View.

Previous examples of Street View awesomeness include underwater shots in Australia, Botswana’s Okavango Delta and parks and palaces worldwide.

We’d hazard a guess that this latest set of images were among the most challenging to get to photograph.