Google Earth has launched a new platform to inspire young people about the world’s highest mountain to coincide with the second anniversary of the Nepal earthquake as well as the spring climbing season in the Himalaya.

The new version of Google Earth will have a streamlined user interface and introduce a new feature called Voyager which will feature a collection of map-based stories from around the world that will be updated weekly.

It features interesting stories from Nepal on the World Most Dramatic Mountain category and showcases works on mountains including Everest and AmaDablam

The highlight of the feature called This is Home is a preview of the Home of Kancha Sherpa, the last living member of the 1953 expedition in which  Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay became the first climbers to scale Mt Everest . Sherpa recounts his experiences from the expedition and shows us around his house.

Google Earth Outreach has partnered with StoryCycle and the Apa Sherpa Foundation to help locals in the Everest region digitally represent their areas on Google Maps.

Apa Sherpa , a 21-time Mount Everest climber and chairperson of Apa Sherpa Foundation, said: “The Khumbu is famous for being home to Everest, but it’s also the home of the

Sherpa community. I hope people viewing the images online will develop a deeper understanding of the region and of the people who live there.”

Saurav Dhakal, founder and curator of StoryCycle said: “Google Earth is an very interesting educational tool for everyone to understand the world. The Home Project could give different understanding about Nepal and Khumbu region.”

The new app will be available on the web via Chrome browser at http://earth.google.com/web and a native Android app available via the Google Play store. It will also soon be available oniOS. Previously, Google Earth was available on desktop and mobile (Android, iOS).

Story Cycle

saurav@storycycle.com