Snowmobiles at Artist Point! WTF

20 years ago there were still some old lift parts in the trees at the top of the Austin run.
To my understanding, there was a "trade" of expansion areas allowed by the FS in the late 80's. An old map/photo that a friend had showed the Blueberry/Artist's Point area expansion plan with the boundary's marked. The "trade" was for the early 90's expansion toward White Salmon and chairs 7+8.
Since there was once an option to expand that way, it may still exist, but (in my opinion) it wouldn't help the overcrowding issues up there.

I was thinking pretty close to what you've drawn, Lowell, but ending a little closer to X at BM4743. Like I said, I'll keep an eye out this summer when I'm up there to see if I can spot any remains.

I didn't start riding up here until 1990 so the Austin Rope tow was already just a legend for me.

One more fleeting thought...maybe the ski area is scouting an expansion with a lift from the bottom of the Swift Creek area up to the Artist Point parking lot ...

More logical -- put the top terminus at Huntoon Point. That would put all of swift creek trees in the lift accessed area.

I'm not sure where the former Austin rope tow ended but it's somewhere outside of the current ski area boundary so there is some historical precedence for lift access in that direction and it would open up Table Mountain as the "other Arm".

The old Austin rope tow ended up just down ridge from the Chicken -- well within the area.  The old Blueberry rope tow ended up just above the Austin Bowl out-of-bounds gate.  Slightly out of area.  But lift access to the Blueberry chutes  would be obtained from the Huntoon lift.

... or from the Table gondola!!  But no worry -- the MBRC is not going to do anything to expand the area.  They just increase traffic on the already in bounds ski area.  I was talking this expansion stuff with them for 10 years.  They especially didn't like the White Salmon Tram.  That would require some land swaps. We could take White Salmon out of the wilderness area and add Church Mountain as wilderness. Ski area skiers could ski the White Salmon, backcountry skiers could go to the the Church area, and sledders could go to hell!!

More logical -- put the top terminus at Huntoon Point. That would put all of swift creek trees in the lift accessed area.

The old Austin rope tow ended up just down ridge from the Chicken -- well within the area.  The old Blueberry rope tow ended up just above the Austin Bowl out-of-bounds gate.  Slightly out of area.  But lift access to the Blueberry chutes  would be obtained from the Huntoon lift.

... or from the Table gondola!!  But no worry -- the MBRC is not going to do anything to expand the area.  They just increase traffic on the already in bounds ski area.  I was talking this expansion stuff with them for 10 years.  They especially didn't like the White Salmon Tram.  That would require some land swaps. We could take White Salmon out of the wilderness area and add Church Mountain as wilderness. Ski area skiers could ski the White Salmon, backcountry skiers could go to the the Church area, and sledders could go to hell!!

Well, I mean no ill will towards sledders, but if we could swap, then I would rather have Park Butte, instead of Church Mountain. Church looks really nice, but Park Butte is probably the area most appropriate for new Wilderness protection in the state. It is absolutely gorgeous, and if you asked most hikers, they would assume that it already is in the Wilderness. If you removed the sledders, it would be one of only three places that fit the criteria I mentioned earlier (wild, easy, and reasonably close to Seattle). The other two are Paradise and Artist Point. All three can be done with skinny skis and all three have spectacular views of volcanoes as well as other terrain. Park Butte is probably the closest of the three, which means that it would be extremely popular for folks on skis, snowboards and snowshoes.

Personally, I would be fine with a year to year swap. Allow sledders at Artist Point on odd years, and at Church mountain on even years.

Allow sledders at Artist Point on odd years, and at Church mountain on even years.

I'm sure the ski area would love to pay for the plowing for all the 4X4s with trailers...

Allow sledders at Artist Point on odd years

And this is a prize for them? How big an area there would you offer them in this plan? Could they circumnav Table Mountain and head out Ptarmigan Ridge etc.? Or just fart around between Table Mountain and the ski area? If the latter, I'm thinking most sledders would see that as being pretty limited, given that it would take what, a few minutes at most to go from one end to the other?

I like Tim's thinking, including the White Salmon tram!