Heads Up: Climbing Advisories Starting Up Again On January 17

[Gavin]

Hey All -

Just FYI: the climbing advisories will be in effect again as of January 17th, the day after MLK Day.

Expect the usual areas to be covered by closures, including Balconies, Yaks and Yaks Wall, Goat Rock and Resurrection Wall, Hawkins Peak (i.e. Tuff and H&L Domes areas), Egg and Chaos Crag, Citadel and Whitetail Rock, etc.

However, note that I am going to start the season by leaving some areas open that have been initially closed in past years:

- Machete Ridge: all routes will remain open
- Piedras Bonitas, Gargoyle, Frog, Hand: all routes will remain open
- Central High Peaks (i.e. Condor Crag, Fingers, Long's Folly): all routes will remain open
- Scout Peak (including Beak Peak, Pinch or Lynch, Salathe's Sliver, etc.): all routes will remain open

As raptors end up nesting in certain locations, I'll update the list accordingly.

Look for more information on the master thread for Climbing Advisories after January 17th... I just wanted to give folks a heads-up beforehand in this thread.

[NOAL]

Thanks!

[Brad Young]

As always Gavin, thanks for the heads up.

One question though, regarding closures and The Balconies. At times you've re-opened the right part of The Balconies after an initial closure. There's a new route right in the middle of the formation called "Full Circle" (perhaps you've heard of it?       ).

If part of the formation re-opens later in the season, would Full Circle be open then (I want to redpoint it, but with the current weather predictions that's not looking likely before the closures kick in).

[JC w KC redux]

That would be really nice if some of those normally closed areas remain open.
For now I am going to keep my head down though - rain up the snoot ya know 

[mungeclimber]

Thx Gavin!  Much appreciated on the extra efforts.


I'm curious, are the nests actually on the main wall of Balconies?

[clink]

Hope for a solid year for the birds. When we were hiking out Sunday,  it was blowing birds over a ridge.  They were all shooting over at about 5ft off the ground.  I thought I might get impaled.

[F4?]

Thanks Gavin.

Don't be a stranger when you crash at istak's and jennie's. I live down the street.

[Gavin]

As always Gavin, thanks for the heads up.

One question though, regarding closures and The Balconies. At times you've re-opened the right part of The Balconies after an initial closure. There's a new route right in the middle of the formation called "Full Circle" (perhaps you've heard of it?       ).

If part of the formation re-opens later in the season, would Full Circle be open then (I want to redpoint it, but with the current weather predictions that's not looking likely before the closures kick in).

Brad, I replied to this when you and I talked on the phone last night, but for the benefit of others:

I've started with a partial closure at Balconies for the past several years, and will do so again this year. Everything from around Digger and north (including Nexus, etc.) will be open, and everything south (including Shake & Bake, Lava Falls, Conduit to the Cosmos, etc.) will be closed. Unfortunately that does include Full Circle. I really want to get back on Full Circle though, and see what possibilities are there for pushing it higher. But hey, it's good to have dreams for later in the season, right?!

Thx Gavin!  Much appreciated on the extra efforts.


I'm curious, are the nests actually on the main wall of Balconies?

Munge, in a nutshell: yes, the falcon nests are on the main wall of Balconies. The peregrine falcon pair that occupies the Balconies and Machete areas has nested in cliff cavities right in the main wall area for the past several years. A prairie falcon pair has nested on the south end of Balconies - near The Inn Crowd - for the past few years. If the birds do shift and nest elsewhere, I'll definitely update closures accordingly.

Thanks Gavin.

Don't be a stranger when you crash at istak's and jennie's. I live down the street.

Thanks, F4! Yeah, I always forget that you live so close to Iztok. I'll give you a shout one of these days when I'm up there.

[Gavin]

Just another reminder: the climbing closures are in effect today. Check the list on the main closures thread and let me know if you have any additional questions.

[mungeclimber]

Thx G

[JC w KC redux]

Just another reminder: the climbing closures are in effect today. Check the list on the main closures thread and let me know if you have any additional questions.

Thanks for doing this on an as needed basis Gavin.
I am sure it is a lot of work to do all the monitoring and make the decisions.
We'll all do our part to keep abreast of any changes and inform the community.