Mont Blanc VR
Europe’s highest peak is made easy to explore in a rich in-browser, VR experience.
- Virtual Reality
- Panoramic Photography
- Explorable 3D Space
Climbing the highest peak in Europe is not something most of us will ever do. To bring the sight, sounds and something of the feel of the experience to a wide audience, PHQ created an immersive virtual reality space replicating the rugged summit and cliffs of Mont Blanc. Achieving this mobile-first project required pushing both VR and browser technologies further than they had gone before.
With an informative voice-over by guide, Patrick Gabarrou, the Mont Blanc VR experience gives you the chance to explore a number of incredible hotspots on the mountain, learning about mountaineering and the topography as you go. The navigation follows the famous Goûter Route and surrounds you with stunning 360º photography and intelligent soundscapes.
To launch the project, Google sent out over 40,000 Google Cardboard frames to Parisians. By placing their phone screens within the cardboard, recipients were instantly wearing ‘smart goggles’ that transported them on to the mountain to explore the area.
Evolution
- In-Browser
- Google Maps
- Sound Design
Mapping the experience
Mapping the mountain
Planning the experience
Making It Feel Real
- High Resolution
- Physiological Data
- Mountain Guide Voice-Over
With a large amount of quite abstract concepts to communicate, we had to balance what the images and animation could bring to the story with a simplified voice-over.
Weather Conditions
At altitude you always have to be aware of the weather. When our users found their ‘goggles’ icing up, they had to shake their heads to clear them.
Layered Audio
Using multiple tracks of fellow climbers, wind and other noises, a convincing sensory experience was created.
Physiological Impact
By pairing data about the temperature and your probable heart rate with audio of breathing, we built up a sense of the exertion the environment requires.
Video
- Alpine Environment
- Online Adventure
- Key Locations
An immersive virtual reality space replicating the rugged summit and cliffs of Mont Blanc.
This mobile-first project pushed both VR and browser technologies further than they had gone before to bring an understanding of Europe’s highest peak to a wide audience.
