Rat Rock (Central Park)

Last updated

Rat Rock
Umpire Rock
Rat rock east face Feb jeh.jpg
East side of the rock
Location map United States Manhattan 2.svg
Red pog.svg
Location of Rat Rock
USA New York City location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Rat Rock (New York City)
USA New York location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Rat Rock (New York)
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Rat Rock (the United States)
Location Central Park, Manhattan,
New York City, New York, U.S.
Coordinates 40°46′10″N73°58′40″W / 40.769361°N 73.977655°W / 40.769361; -73.977655
Climbing type Bouldering
Height25 feet (7.6 m)
Rock type Schist
Ownership Department of Parks and Recreation
AccessPublic

Rat Rock, also known as Umpire Rock, is an outcrop of Manhattan schist which protrudes from the bedrock in Central Park, Manhattan, New York City.

Contents

Description

The outcrop is located near the southwest corner of Central Park, south of the Heckscher Ballfields near the alignments of 62nd Street and Seventh Avenue. It is officially named Umpire Rock, due to its proximity to the ballfields, but is commonly known as Rat Rock after the rats that used to swarm there at night. [1]

It measures about 150 feet (46 m) wide and is 25 feet (7.6 m) tall at its highest point. [1] The outcrop has different east, west, and north faces, each of which presents a differing climbing challenge. [2] The rock has striations caused by glaciation. [3]

Climbing usage

Boulderers congregate at the outcrop, sometimes as many as 50 per day. [1] [4] A 2007 article in The New York Times highlighted regular climber Yukihiko Ikumori, a then 60-year-old gardener from the West Village known as the "spiritual godfather" of the rock. [1] Other climbers include tourists and visitors to the city who learn about the climbing spot from the Internet and word of mouth. Experienced climbers such as Ikumori often show neophytes good routes and techniques. [1]

While the outcrop has been included in a list of the "top 5 urban bouldering crags", [5] more experienced outsiders may be disappointed as the quality of the stone is poor, the setting is gloomy, and the climbs present so little challenge that it has been called "one of America's most pathetic boulders". [2]

The park police formerly ticketed climbers who climbed more than a few feet up the rock. The City Climbers Club approached the park authorities and, by working to provide safety features such as wood chips around the base, they were able to legalize climbing there. [2]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Bleyer, Jennifer (October 7, 2007). "The Zen of the Rock". The New York Times . ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved April 19, 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 Sherman, John (1994), Stone crusade: a historical guide to bouldering in America, The Mountaineers Books, pp. 226–228, ISBN   978-0-930410-62-9
  3. ↑ Hand, Carol (2009), The Creation of Glaciers, Rosen, ISBN   9781435852983
  4. ↑ Glickman, Joe (March 11, 1998). "The Thrill of Bouldering: It Doesn't Have to Be High to Be Hairy". The New York Times .
  5. ↑ Roy, Adam (September 10, 2010). "The Top 5 Urban Bouldering Crags". outsideonline.com. Retrieved August 26, 2025.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.