To protect nesting peregrine falcons, certain climbing routes on Donner Summit’s Black Wall are closed until mid-summer.

Each year, volunteers with the Truckee Donner Land Trust and Access Fund monitor Donner Summit climbing areas for nesting raptors. A peregrine falcon nest with chicks has been located at the recently conserved Black Wall climbing area.

Raptors are well known to nest in the area, and this year’s nest at Black Wall is in the grotto at the base of Rambo Crack in Cannibal Gully.

Volunteers will monitor the nest and lift the closure when nesting activities have ceased for the year. The nest has two eggs, and the female was incubating, thus they may fledge by mid-July. The female appeared more high-strung than birds in recent years, and is possibly a new individual, according to officials.

The following routes are closed until further notice: Touch and Go, Hungover Hangover, Rat’s Tooth, Empty Sky, Rhythm Killer, Pinball Junkie, Inner Recess, Rambo Crack, Space Invaders, and Bourbon Street.