Nodos en New York City

While the history of the park is well documented, the history of climbing activity in the park is not. There are no formal annals of ascent. Information as such is so vague and informal, with these qualities reaching far back into the shrouded recess of the unremembered past, that the concept of a first ascent is questionable at best and commonly considered absurd by most locals. It is important to keep in mind that since the time of the Golden Age of Alpinism, thousands of climbers have visited Central Park; including such notables as George Mallory, John Gill and Lynn Hill. In the 60s, Art Gran, Jim McCarthy and other "Vulgarians" from the Gunks made several forays into Central Park. Consequently, the entrenched attitude is, "Everything has probably been done already." (Nick Falacci, 2003)

Bouldering in Central Park in New York City. Approximate GPS location: 40.769126, -73.977867

#eliminate

Start: At the extreme low point of the crack mentioned in Low Traverse. Go: Layback the crack to the top of the boulder.

Start: Same as Layback. Go: Instead of laybacking the crack, move up a little and then reach out right for a hold at the bottom of the starter flake. Move feet right and bring the left hand over to a side pull on the starter flake. Power to the top.

Start: At the bottom of the right-leaning crack, just left and below the "starter" flake. Go: Move up and traverse right past the "starter" flake following hand holds just below or at the lip. Traverse right onto the small holds of the small west face and continue to a crack. Finish by moving right along the lip of the rock and step off.

Start: As one ends the left-to-right version of Rat Rock Traverse or the High Traverse. Go: Stay high as you move right toward the right-leaning crack. Use holds above the "starter" flake and below the lip to link up with the Overhanging Traverse.

Start: Sitting beneath the large overhang on the right side of the north face. Hands matched on undercling. Go: Out, up and over.

Start: Beneath last dark overhang that marks the end of the Polish Traverse. Left hand on side-pull, right hand on low, tiny crimp.

Go: Up and right. A powerful move with the left hand to the small prominent flake beneath the obvious large one. Continue moving up and right using the larger holds along the lip of the overhang.

Use the front sloper to topout

Start: Same start as for Smack the Dragon.

Go: Make the same opening move with the left hand as Smack the Dragon. Then move right, staying low on tiny crimpers and then moving up on more tiny crimpers until you are forced to top out at the far end of the overhang.

Routes are described right to left.

Start: Just right of Rat Hole. Go: Climb straight up the left side fo the small face, starting on the broken bulge and on to the thin face holds and the top.

Start: At the obvious narrow chimney that splits the right side of the east face. Go: Squirm up the grungy chimney to the top. It is more difficult, but more pleasant to stay out of the crack and layback the large left flake. (5.6)

Start: Just right of The Horn, at a tiny alcove with "V" shaped flakes beneath a bulging overhang. Go: Up into the alcove and then crank up and over the overhang via a wonderful assortment of holds and classic moves.

Start: Just right of the Ratraverse bulge, underneath the obvious right-pointing horn. Go: Climb up to the horn and then over to the top.

Start: At large holds near the middle of the Small Wall right of the obvious chimney. Go: Traverse left staying low, past Rat Hole and past large flakes beneath Easy Overhang. Continue left until the left hand reaches the low bulge start of Ratraverse. Then power straight up to the holds just left of The Horn. Move left into the big flake and continue to the rail. Traverse the long rail to the small right-facing corner at its end. Continue moving left (crux, bad landing) and traverse into the small boulder-filled gully, using small holds found just below or at the lip of the wall. Traverse until one is forced to climb up and out.

Start: Same as Ratraverse and Bottom Line. Go: Up and slightly right to face holds along a right leaning crack line. Move up to the breast-shaped bulge and the twin sloped finger shelfs. Find a hidden, shallow dished out hold just above and between these holds and continue to a crack. Pull over the top and breath easier.

Start: At the tallest, steepest section of the eastern face, find an obvious, large right-facing flake that archs up right. Go: Move up the flake until you can reach out left and gain the long hand rail. Move left and down along the rail until decent holds allow you to climb straight up. (Traditionally done with a heel hook.)

Start: On small, crystal holds immediately to the left of The Flake. Go: Crimp up a vertical line of small face holds to a shallow, thin horizontal crack (requires left hand on the "tooth" hold) then straight up from there (avoiding the rail) to a hold where the rail ends. Mantle directly onto the upper slab section via a small two-finger crystal.

Start: Immediately left of Testpiece on low crystal holds. Go: Straight up, using two of the small face holds on the lower part of Testpiece for the right hand. Left hand on a small right-facing sidepull, right hand on the "tooth" hold, make the big move to the rail. Finish directly finding a good hold in the large crystally rock above.

Start: Immediately left of Rat Patrol. 2-3 feet left of The Flake. The left-hand gaston on the sidepull of Rat Patrol becomes a straight on right-hand sidepull on this problem. Go: Crank up on the tweaky opposing sidepulls and grab the horizontal rail above. Continue to top.

Start: Left hand potato chip, right hand sharp crimp, move up to the rail, then straight up to the sloping crimp above. Pads and spotter recommended.

Start: Same as Ratraverse -- on the small hand holds found on the low bulge right of the large flake. Go: Move left to the flake and stay low, traversing along the small face holds at the bottom of Testpiece and Rat Patrol. Continue to a left-slanting, larger hold. Move left onto very thin holds and then straight up avoiding the rail (using dished out holds just beneath its edge) and reach the top statically via tiny holds. V8

Cat Rock is located immediately north of the Wollman Skating Rink at the very south end of Central Park, just a short walk from Rat Rock. Follow paths east from Rat Rock, walking under or over Center Drive. Cat Rock is the obvious south-facing rock wall.

Start: At the obvious right-facing corner on the east side of the boulder. Go: Up the awkward corner.

Start: On either side of the obvious arete that creates the left side of Cat Corner. Go: Up the left side of the arete to the top. (If you start on the right side, make an initial hard move to gain the left side of the arete.)

Leftward traverse along the top, starting at The Arête.

Start: Immediately left of the arete. The right hand crimps on a thin, sharp flake hold. The left hand on a small sloped hold. Go: Straight up. Gain the obvious foothold and make one hard move to grab the good hold above. Top out directly or move left to the groove and exit.

Start: Slightly left of Scratching Post with hands matched on a diagonal, thin flake. (Or, from a later, harder sequence, match hands on the undercling found at the bottom edge of the boulder.) Go: Straight up. The only hold used from Scratching Post is the small sloper initially used for the left hand on that problem. Here it becomes a right hand hold. Avoid the good hold higher up on Scratching Post.

Start: In the middle of steep main face. Right hand high on an obvious undercling hold, the left on a shallow, thin horizontal crimper. Go: Straight up with a difficult move to get established into the undercling. Continue up past tiny crimper to a shallow, thin crack/slot. Fire for the top and mantle.

Variation of The Dawg. After getting established on the upper crimps, traverse right across Private Angel and Elias. Exit via the notch.

Start: On the left side of the main face where there is a small depression at knee-level. An obvious pinch/sidepull for the right hand and a tiny, dished out crimper for the left. Go: Either move halfway up Fancy Feast and then right one step, or (a much nicer beginning) angle up and diagonal slightly right from the opening move of Fancy Feast past two hard-to-hold irregular crimps. Continue to the same shallow crack/slot hold found on Private Angel (for the right hand on this problem) and make a big move for the top. Mantle.

Start: Same as The Dawg. Go: Straight up, finding small edges and avoiding the large, sloped hold out left.

Start: Immediately left of Fancy Feast. Two thin vertical seams are found below a large, sloped hold. Go: Up to the large, sloped hold and the finish.

Start: On the broken, irregular arete at the west end of the main Cat Rock block. Go: Up the arete to the top using a dyno near the start if necessary. (Or force yourself to set both feet on the rock before moving hands -- V4.)

Up obvious vertical crack on far left of wall.

Just by the arch. Beautiful scenery. Lots of curious passers by.

Start up Rambo, but as soon as you gain the large, sloping edge out left for your feet, move left to the next groove/flake system and climb up via slopers and a mantle not nearly as exciting as on Rambo.

Start: Slightly right of center of the boulder, find a low, obvious right-facing side-pull. Go: Up and slightly left into a shallow groove with an assortment of flakes, slopers, edges and knobs. Finish on the slopey, scary top-out ... which just might be the crux.

Beware of awkward landings into the pole.

Sit start on the face left of the arete. use the crack that slopes down to the left to better holds above.

Start as per 'Rock and Roll' then instead of pulling onto the slab traverse left to finish as per 'Freestanding Rock Arete'.

Sit start at the left corner of the slab. Work up to the jug on the left side of the slab then to the top.

Start: Sitting at the obvious arête on the left side of the overhanging face.

Go: Up the right side of the arête to the top.

Start: Sitting at the obvious arête on the left side of the overhanging face.

Go: Up the right side of the arête to the top. Do not use the arête for hands or feet.

Start: Sit start just right of the arête with hands on good edge.

Go: Up and slightly right via good undercling.

Start: At the "starter" edge for Bring the Noise, below and slightly left of the blunt nose on the right side of the face. Begin with a sit start below the first set of small slopers.

Go: Move left onto small slopers and then up to larger ones and top-out directly.

Start: At a thin edge on the top of a block of black rock, found beneath and slightly left of the blunt nose.

Go: Up to the blunt, overhanging nose (using left-hand undercling or not), finding better holds as you go higher.

Note: While relatively easy, the quality of this problem is very high. Crux comes down to finding the right hand for the right hold by which to access the holds above the blunt nose. The final hold for topping out is not easy to see when climbing.

Start: Sit start at the right side of the overhanging face, beneath a dark, blunt nose.

Go: Up via tiny slopers and smears to the blunt nose, eventually joining Bring the Noise/Voodoo Bullshit to the top via good holds.

Note: Avoid the good starting holds for Bring The Noise/Voodoo Bullshit out left, including the undercling.

Start: On the small edges on the shorter north wall, found low at a dark streak. Right-hand edge has been reinforced.

Go: Up and left, traversing from the north wall, past the blunt nose and continuing across the overhanging northeast face until you reach the arête where you top-out.

*Family Values is arguably the best boulder problem in Central Park.

Start: On the same small edges as Family Values.

Go: Up the dark green rock, to a darker area and the top.

Note: Though all the holds from the start of Family Values are on, do not trend too far left and end up on the finish of Bring the Noise/Voodoo Bullshit.

Note: When originally climbed, there was a small tree very close to the short north wall and this problem. With the tree removed, the problem is much more attractive and topping out is not as frustrating/scary as it used to be.

Start: Match hands and heel hook a large edge on the right side of the short north wall.

Go: Move left (crux) to gain the small starting edges of Family Values. Continue Family Values traverse all the way to the end.