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Show and tell about places in nature that were, or are, important to you. Big majestic places, or everyday places. Rat Rock, Central Park Who: Mike Where: New York City Why: You're marooned in the densest urban metropolis in the country. Skyscraper National Forest. But there in leafy Central Park, not more than fifty yards from the softball field, is a rocky outcrop in the concrete jungle: Rat Rock. This scruffy, sharp, 15-foot high lump of schist is a climber's sanctuary. Blessed with enough holds to offer hundreds of route possibilities, savored daily by an energetic and highly sociable crowd of regulars, and commanding a majestic if unlikely view of Manhattan's skyline, it's a climbing experience like no other. If this boulder was in California, it'd be laughed at. But stuck in Central Park, it's tha bomb. Tell us about your Special Place! Photo above: Jim Thornburg Up to Top