Pinnacles Bird Nesting Closures - January 2007

1/12/07: The nesting closures for 2007 began.
The closed areas include the same areas as in 2006, plus the following are added: Citadel, Whitetail Rock, Proclamation Pinnacle, Arch Pinnacle, Wedge, Teapot Dome, Ball Pinnacle, Western Front, and Shaft. Several of these closed areas have been closed in past years.

A map of the closed areas is available on the NPS web page.

new single map of all closed areas (same as on NPS page)
For additional details on closed areas, please see the text descriptions further below.

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 2007

Frog, Hand, Gargoyle
- Closed
  - Hand
  - Snail
  - Frog
  - Crud and Mud (probably closed)
  - Gargoyle
  - Outcast
  - Knuckle Ridge
- Open
  - east side of Neglected Valley (Lion's Head, Toadstool, Triple Decker)
  - Mollusk
Yaks (a.k.a. "Little Pinnacles")
- 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)
  - Tugboat (east of north end of Machete Ridge)
- Open
  - Flumes Formation
  - south of Balconies trail (Osiris, Toog's, Chockstone Dome)
  - Machete Ridge
Juniper Canyon
- Closed
  - Resurrection Wall
  - Western Front
- Open
  - Monument, Crumbling Castle
Scout Peak Area and High Peaks South
- Closed
  - Goat Rock
  - Scout Peak
  - Beak Peak
  - Shaft
  - 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
High Peaks
- Closed
  - Long's Folly, North and South Fingers, Condor Crags
  - Chaos Crag
  - The Egg, Hunky Dory Rock
  - Proclamation Pinnacle
  - Arch Pinnacle, Wedge
  - Teapot Dome, Ball Pinnacle
  - H & L, Tuff Dome, Bynum's Spire
  - Cornflake, Frothy Flake, Papa Bear, Smokestack
- Open
  - Pot Pinnacle, Peyote Pillar, Sponge, Burgundy Dome
  - 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)
Condor Gulch (except Feather Canyon route on H&L)
some West Side areas (Machete Ridge, Cleaver Buttress, Elephant Rock)