WHISTLER, B.C. — Google has taken its Street View program onto the mountain, giving people 360-degree views of the slopes from the comfort of their computers.

Street View is a tool in Google Maps that initially allowed users to navigate the streets, offering photographic images of houses, storefronts and other roadside features. Simply type in your street address at Google Maps, click and drag the little orange person to your house's location on the map, and voilą: You're looking at a photo of your house. Use the arrows to spin your little orange person around, and give her a look at all your neighbors' houses as well.

Recently, Google started off-roading, bringing Street View to pedestrian-only areas like bike paths and hiking trails. In its most recent incarnation, debuted in time for the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver, Street View might be better called Slope View. Google introduced mountaintop Street View imagery from parts of Whistler Mountain. Games fans, skiers and snowboarders around the world can now pan across several Whistler runs as if they were there, and wind through Whistler Village and Whistler Creekside at the bases of Whistler Blackcomb Mountains. And the little orange icon who helps you keep your bearings is outfitted with skis and a parka.

“It all came together very quickly,” said Google spokeswoman Elaine Filadelfo. “We had been working on extending Street View to some new and interesting areas, and we thought, ‘We should take the trike through the Olympic Village. But wouldn't it be awesome if we could have the ski slopes too?'”

Google captures its images for Street View via GPS technology and state-of-the-art, custom cameras, each with six lenses facing outward in all directions. For street images, the cameras are mounted atop cars, which drive through America's cities, suburbs and rural areas. Google makes the sweep about once a year in large cities, less often in other spots. The cameras are affixed to an adult-size tricycle to reach pedestrian-only locations.

Google staff gathered the images of Whistler in December, using the newest experimental Street View system — a snowmobile equipped with the photographic and GPS equipment. Whistler Blackcomb ski patrollers then jumped on and zoomed around the mountain for a couple of days.

“We've seen great responses so far. We're seeing a lot of people logging on, looking at the images, and there has been a great response on blogs and Twitter,” Filadelfo said.

Just as in the street version of Street View, Google blurs anyone's face that ends up in the on-mountain pictures to protect their privacy.

It's yet unknown whether Google will someday hit the slopes in Summit County or any other North American ski areas.

“We plan to bring the trike to Colorado sometime soon. The snowmobile is pretty new, and we're not sure where it will go next. We're exploring the possibilities, and there are certainly lots of good options in your area,” Filadelfo said of Summit County.

Julie Sutor can be reached at (970) 668-4630 or jsutor@

summitdaily.com.