Pinnacles Bird Nesting Closures - January 2003

1/17/03: The nesting closures for 2003 will begin.
The closed areas are essentially the same as in past years, with one clarification in the Scout Peak area.

Excellent maps of the closed areas are posted on the NPS web page, during the times when closures are in effect.

Local copies of these maps are available here at all times. For additional details on closed areas, please see the text descriptions further below.

Yaks, Yaks Wall
Scout Peak, Pinch or Lynch Note: Goat Rock, Salathe's Sliver, Nelson's Needle and Generation Gap are also usually closed, but are not circled (yet) on this map.
High Peaks
Balconies, Crowley Towers, Smiling Simian, Even Coyotes

The closures are usually in effect from mid-January until July or August, depending on exactly when the birds leave. During the closure season, check the bulletin board at the Bear Gulch and West Side trailheads for updates, as sometimes areas are closed or opened during this period. Usually in late April, some areas will be reopened if no nesting is observed.

The closures are technically voluntary, but are normally followed by everyone. They apply not only to climbing, but to off-trail hiking in these areas. If rangers observe people in these areas, they will be asked to leave, and if they do not comply, they will be cited for failing to obey a ranger. If birds were present, there would be an additional citation for disturbing wildlife. Climbers have always been very cooperative, so there have been no citations to my knowledge.

The main result of the closures has been that climbers have used the October-December (and sometimes days in January) season to climb at the High Peaks, Balconies, Yaks Wall, and other normally closed areas.

Nesting Closures in 2002

(2003 closures are pretty much the same)

Gargoyle
- Closed
  - Gargoyle
  - Outcast
  - Knuckle Ridge
- Open
  - east side of Neglected Valley (Lion's Head, Toadstool, Triple Decker)
  - Mollusk
Yaks
- Closed
  - Marauder
  - Yaks Wall (Shoot the Tube to Reach for the Sky)
  - North Yak, South Yak (including Beast of Burden, Bullrun)
- Open
  - Marmot Rock (including Wrinkle Remover, Asleep at the Wheel)
  - Hanging Valley (Nip & Tuck, Teter Tower, etc.)
Balconies
- Closed
  - Crowley Towers
  - Balconies (If We Bolt It They Will Come, Bongloadash to Nexus area, Echoes)
  - north of Balconies Trail (Smiling Simian boulder, Even Coyotes Like it Doggie Style)
- Open
  - Flumes Formation
  - south of Balconies trail (Osiris, Toog's, Chockstone Dome)
Juniper Canyon
- Closed
  - Resurrection Wall
  - Western Front (probably closed)
Scout Peak Area and High Peaks South
- Closed
  - Goat Rock
  - Beak Peak
  - Pinch or Lynch Wall (all routes)
  - Salathe's Sliver, Nelson's Needle, Generation Gap Pinnacle
- Open
  - Unmentionable
  - Bobbin
  - Popcorn Pinnacles, Nebulous Knob
  - Flatiron, Photographer's Delight
  - Axe, Dwarf, Scout Peak, Shaft
High Peaks
- Closed
  - Long's Folly, North and South Fingers, Condor Crags
  - Chaos Crag
  - The Egg
  - H & L, Tuff Dome, Bynum's Spire
  - Cornflake, Frothy Flake, Papa Bear, Smokestack
- Open
  - Pot Pinnacle, Peyote Pillar, Sponge, Burgundy Dome
  - Proclamation Pinnacle
  - Piglet, Spike's Peak, Dragonfly Dome, Sidehorse, Egg Shell, Freedom Dome
  - Cinder, Disintegration Pinnacle, The Lump

In case you are wondering, the following areas are Open:

Bear Gulch (Discovery Wall, Monolith, Upper Crust, etc.)
Reservoir (Five Sisters, Deserted Valley, Hand, Frog)
Condor Gulch (except Feather Canyon route on H&L)
some West Side areas (Machete Ridge, Citadel)