Google features Pulpit Rock

Street View brings pictures along Preikestolen’s edge to an armchair near you

Photo: Google Maps
The view from Pulpit Rock, according to Google Maps.

Michael Sandelson
The Foreigner

Walkers of all ilks can now enjoy the fresh air experience of Pulpit Rock without having to be concerned about footwear or conditions in the western Norway region.

2014 was a record year for the popular trip, with a 36 percent increase in visitor numbers compared with 2013.

The annual TTT triathlon, a grueling way of experiencing the popular attraction, is also organized there.

All people need is an internet-connected device to view the trip via Google Maps.

The company used a Trekker rucksack with 15 cameras to capture the images instead of their traditional GPS-equipped cars, due to the terrain.

Google’s backpack uses an accelerometer and compass to help keep the images captures aligned in places where GPS is unavailable. Data is then processed for view on Google Maps, with the 360-degree panoramic experience created from spliced together image files.

“We think it’s a really cool feature,” Preben Falck, General Manager of the Norwegian Trekking Association’s Rogaland County branch tells The Foreigner, “and it gives a very good impression of hiking there and the area in general.”

The images were launched at the Holmenkollen Ski Museum in Oslo on March 3.

Street View is available for 65 countries. Some sights include the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt and Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world, which is located in the UAE’s Dubai, standing at 828 meters (2,716.5 feet).

The exterior and interior of Antarctic explorer Captain Robert F. Scott’s hut and underwater views off the Galapagos Islands also form part of the collection.

This article was originally published on The Foreigner. To subscribe to The Foreigner, visit theforeigner.no.

It also appeared in the March 13, 2015, issue of the Norwegian American Weekly. To subscribe, visit SUBSCRIBE or call us at (206) 784-4617.