Mt. Meeker

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 6/4/2018, By: jfm3
Info: Mt. Meeker and Meeker Ridge are mostly dry and are in summer conditions. There are some wet/muddy areas near treeline on the Hunter Creek 'trail' and some very avoidable snow in this area too. Sandbeach Lake trail is dry all the way. There is one lingering snowfield at ~12,700 feet on the south face of Meeker, just before gaining the southwest ridge. This can be avoided by ascending another ~100 feet and going behind a big rock tower and joining the ridge farther up. Knife edge is dry except for 2 small snowdrifts about 2/3 of the way across, on the north side. I used spikes and got across fine. I'll post some pictures when I go through them. 

Route: Sandbeach lake TH-meeker ridge
Posted On: 5/8/2018, By: smartt
Info: Went up Sandbeach lake trail to meeker ridge at about 13,100 I skirted the east face to the top of continuous snow. Was able to snowboard about 1,000-1,200 feet till the snow stopped on cabin creek. Hiked out to the church then took the highway back to sandbeach lake trailhead. 

Route: Dragon Egg Couloir
Posted On: 1/26/2018, By: JoseDeMoor
Info: There was a decent trench all the way to Sandbeach Lake, opted to go that direction versus following the creek up to Meeker Meadow.

Above treeline there wasn't much snow. Took the more direct route of Meeker Ridge back to the trail on the descent.
Lots of wind, didn't see anyone else out there, the R$NP entrance gate was unmanned. 

Route: Loft
Posted On: 11/15/2017, By: desertdog
Info: Windy, but the wind blown snow was firm enough to climb. We took the summer bypass on the ledges. There is a section of ice right as you get on the ledges. You will have to climb some fairy steep snow before you gain easier ground. Ice axe and crampons are a must. 

Route: Iron Gates
Posted On: 8/17/2017, By: cougar
Info: Entire route is dry. Same for other routes. Scree can mostly be avoided by ascending the nearby talus. Awesome alpenglow on Longs. 

Route: Dreamweaver
Posted On: 6/5/2017, By: TheRealRooster
Info: Climbed Dreamweaver on 6/3, started up the route at maybe 6:45am and topped out around 9:30. Snow got a little soft near the top but was pretty secure, would have wanted to be earlier to the bottom and top though. The second step was a mess - not much ice and a bunch of unconsolidated snow. Skipped it via a little ramp to climber's right. Other ice steps were in great shape. Descended the Loft, which was getting pretty soft and required either some sketchy downclimbing or a rap from an existing sling anchor on skier's right of the main part of the couloir. Needed more than a 40m rope for that rap. Thanks to Jamie and Adam for some guidance on the descent! The snow heading down from there was a mess... snowshoes helped, but not a ton. 

Route: Meeker Ridge
Posted On: 10/23/2016, By: dereks95
Info: Conditions couldn't be better for mid-October. We started at the Horse Creek trailhead - a less-used access point to Meeker ridge that will save you 2 miles and 500 feet of climbing. The trail to Lookout Mtn is in great shape with a minor dusting of snow near the saddle. From the saddle, cairns were easy to follow up the Meeker Ridge to treeline. From there the route is obvious. Wind was pretty strong and gusty so we occasionally dropped to the east (right) side of the ridge to get a break from the breeze. There is minor snow on that side of the ridge but nothing to be concerned about. We had microspikes but never used them. The knife edge is completely clear of snow and ice - wind will be your biggest factor. I took it slow crossing the ridge because the occasional 30+ mph gust can knock you off balance. 

Route: The Loft up Meeker Ridge/NE ridge down
Posted On: 10/3/2016, By: jmanner
Info: Not sure how useful this is with the winter storm coming up, but I went up to Meeker from the loft and down over Meeker Ridge and the Iron Gates on Saturday. In short, there was a bunch of freeze thaw snow on the ramp that leads up to the Loft, so I climbed straight up the head wall( this was not an intentional act it just seemed "right" at the time"). The loft and the ridge over to Meeker Ridge were snow free and the Iron Gates were also snow free, except some rime on the rocks(objectively the closest I actually got to injury).

I may or may not write a trip report describing my terror of climbing that headwall up to the Loft. 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 9/19/2016, By: jkjkjk13gcs
Info: Solo hiked the Southwest Ridge starting at the Sandbeach Lake trailhead. Route was completely free of snow until the final 50-75 feet where the light dusting of snow from the last storm was mostly avoidable or easy to navigate through without traction. Strong gusts of wind made the ridgeline a bit more interesting, but overall great summer conditions with mild temps! Roundtrip climb time of approximately 9 hours. 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 8/29/2016, By: madadraw1
Info: Once you leave Sandbeach Lake Trail going to the Northwest along Hunter Creek, it does get a little wet. Not horribly so but my socks got wet enough to make my toes numb at the summit. Changed socks, then no problem. Not as much bushwhacking as I thought there would have been. When the trail along Hunter Creek ends, you can easily find fairly clear areas to follow. Still, wish I would have brought gaiters to prevent getting some thorns in my socks/shoes. Also, when the trail ends by Hunter Creek, don't go too far to the East (to the right). I missed the Rocky Ridge (that you should stay to the left of) and ended up above it. However, I was still able to get right where I needed to be and it wasn't that bad anyhow. Most of the rock is fairly stable on this hike, not much slipping even on the descent. When hiking up to the final summit ridge, I stayed a little further right where there was maybe easy class 3. Definitely not difficult but a little more direct and fun. I used my GPS which was very helpful...even though it had me up on top of the rocky ridge! Next time I'll put in a way point ahead of time. Plenty of solitude. I didn't see anyone else on the trail today. 

Route: dreamweaver
Posted On: 6/15/2016, By: dereferenced
Info: Dreamweaver's still in okay shape, probably a few weeks past prime conditions. The bottom few constrictions are melting, mixed climbs. The top two have good continuous ice.

I descended the loft around 10 AM, conditions were great for glissading or running downhill, not very slushy yet. The exit ramp up to the loft is partially covered in snow, mostly melted higher up.

I couldn't be sure from a distance, but Martha looked totally melted out for a big section in the middle. 

Route: North Side
Posted On: 6/13/2016, By: emgordon
Info: Photo from Lily Lake. Driving past, Meeker Ridge mostly clear and Dragon's Egg still holding snow near top. 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 5/23/2016, By: smartt
Info: Avalanche debris field. Slid from about 13,600ft to debris at 12,000ft 

Route: Loft Couloir
Posted On: 1/25/2016, By: Dad Mike
Info: Trailhad...Longs Peak
Route...Longs Peak Trail to Crater Lake Trail to Loft Couloir to SE Longs to Meeker to Meeker Ridge down Iron Gates
Notes...
-No snowshoes needed
-Snow in the Loft is firm
-Crux is tricky...you have 2 options to get through the cliff band
*20' ice section...started to climb this, but didn't feel comfortable with a dull axe and no ice tool
*tricky traverse around a ledge system that gets you to the upper snowfield...I would not advise this option in it's current conditions
-knife edge between Meeker and Meeker Ridge is dry
-Iron Gates route is basically dry 

Route: Loft, Iron Gates
Posted On: 9/22/2015, By: C-Shepguy
Info: Meeker (or Longs) can still be climbed via the Loft without winter gear as of today. It was unseasonably warm up there, and recent snow dusting is gone. Couple small avoidable patches of ice/snow on the loft exit ramp. I went over Meeker to Iron Gates, all clear. Talked to a Longs summiter at the trail head who was fine on keyhole without winter gear, also. Get it while it lasts (probably not long!)