Aesthetically I don't see much difference between that and the snowmobile tracks except for the amount of noise they make in the act of creation.
Yeah, and other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you like the play? The noise is the thing, and I would be pissed if I saw them whining around up there. Now, if they were up there for an important reason, that is completely different. They would also leave fairly quickly. Also, if they had four stroke engines that are really quiet, that would probably be OK. But if it was like Park Butte, with sledders making noise all day, then I would be pissed. There are only a handful of places like Artist Point. Only two, really. I'm talking:
1) Reasonable driving distance from Seattle (although it isn't exactly short).
2) Mild, easy, off road, off trail terrain. I've skied up there with plain Nordic gear (not BC Nordic). It is challenging with gear like that, but if you take a good line, it can be done.
3) Extremely scenic
4) Wild (or least mostly wild)
5) Easily accessible (you don't have a really long road approach or need to time the snow level just right).
The only other places in my book that compare are Park Butte and Paradise. As mentioned, Park Butte is out because of the snow mobiles. It would really suck if I drove all the way up there to get away from them only to encounter them up there. That would be like visiting the Sistine Chapel and having a guy crank his boombox next to me (with a mix of Tiny Tim and Japanese Opera).
