Mount Meeker is the broad companion of Longs Peak, second only to Longs within Rocky Mountain National Park and, from much of the northern Front Range, the more visually prominent of the pair. The name was first suggested during the 1873 Hayden Survey, whose party included Ralph Meeker, son of pioneer Nathan Meeker. Its long summit ridge and the cirque below Chasm Lake make for some of the finest alpine scenery in the park.
The usual line is the Loft route from the Longs Peak Trailhead. Follow the Longs Peak trail to the Chasm Lake fork, pick up a climber's path up the couloir south of the Ship's Prow, work across a ledge system through the cliffs near 12,800 feet, and gain the Loft, the broad saddle between Meeker and Longs. From there about 400 feet of climbing leads southeast to the summit ridge and an exposed final block. Plan on roughly 11 miles and 4,510 feet of gain round trip at Class 3. The quieter southwest ridge starts at Sandbeach Lake in Wild Basin, passes Lyric Falls and Meeker Meadows, and finishes on slabby Class 3 rock, about 12 miles and 5,536 feet round trip.
Both trailheads are inside the park, so an entrance pass is required, and from late May to mid-October a timed entry reservation is needed to drive in between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. Most climbers arrive long before that. Early-season snow in the Loft calls for an ice axe and crampons.
