Pinnacles Bird Nesting Closures - January 2008

1/17/08: The nesting closures for 2008 began.
The closed areas include the same areas as in 2007.

A map of the closed areas should be available soon 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 2008

1. 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
2. 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.)
3. 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)
     • upper Machete Ridge (The West Face, Bill's Bad Bolts, Bill's Bad Bolts Direct Finish, Rock Around the Clock, Pigeon Crack, Crackophobia, Son of Dawn Wall (2nd pitch and above), Icarus)
   • Open
     • Flumes Formation
     • south of Balconies trail (Osiris, Toog's, Chockstone Dome)
     • lower Machete Ridge (all routes except those listed above for upper Machete Ridge)
4. Juniper Canyon
   • Closed
     • Resurrection Wall
     • Western Front
   • Open
     • Monument, Crumbling Castle
5. 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
6. 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

• Bear Gulch (Discovery Wall, Monolith, Upper Crust, etc.)
• Reservoir (Five Sisters, Deserted Valley)
• Condor Gulch (except Feather Canyon route on H&L)
• Machete Ridge, except for several upper pitches (see top of this page)
• Cleaver Buttress
• Elephant Rock