Speed Demons The Radar Run was held on Rangeley Lake's Russell Cove on Saturday, Jan. 24. Radar Run participants, of all ages and abilities raced their snow machines down a quarter mile stretch at speeds of up to 132 mph. The conditions were nearly ideal during the three-day Snodeo event with plentiful snow cover and negligible pressure ridges on the surrounding lakes. This year's Snodeo participants universally praised the snowmobile trail conditions. (Dan Fayen photo) RANGELEY — Mother Nature delivered the goods for the second year in a row as hundreds of snowmobile and winter enthusiasts descended on Rangeley last weekend for the annual three-day Snodeo Festival and found ideal snowmobile riding conditions.

Those that participated in the Snodeo's many events, including the Poker Run, Radar Run and Family Ride, universally raved about the near-ideal snow conditions and great trails.

"This is the second year in a row we have excellent snow for the Snodeo," said Rangeley Lakes Snowmobile Club president Steve Dudley. "We haven't had any day of above freezing temperature and we've had a lot of snow. The trails are in great condition as are the lakes."

The Rangeley Lakes Snowmobile Club organizes and runs each year's Snodeo. The annual three-day snowmobile extravaganza attracts hundreds for fun on and off the trails and serves as a vital fundraiser for one of Maine's biggest and most renowned snowmobile clubs. This year's Snodeo organizers included (left to right) Marsha Morton (2009 Snodeo Chairperson), Don Dumont (RLSC V.P.), "Mac" Dudley (RLSC member and "first lady") and Steve Dudley (RLSC President and emcee of the Snodeo Awards Ceremony). (Dan Fayen photo) "I come here to get away and get into the woods," said Tom Wheatley of Westbrook. "It is great up here."

Some locals were concerned that the nation's current economic down-turn would keep numbers low at this year's event. That initial fear was dispelled immediately as the Snodeo's kick-off event, the Chili-Chowder Cook-Off held at the Snodeo's HQ, drew more than last year's robust attendance —as did many other of the Snodeo events. The Rangeley Chamber of Commerce reported that most of the hotel/inn rooms were booked.

The 2009 Snodeo featured the first year of snowmobile "free-style" jumping demonstrations. Top New England and national professional snowmobile free-style riders performed aerial acrobatic feats such as "huge dead sailors," "knack-knacks" and "holy crap one handers" for an awe-enraptured audience of hundreds of Rangeley Snodeo participants on Saturday, Jan. 24. The event was sponsored and run by RAVE-X of Gray. (Dan Fayen photo) "It has become a yearly tradition for many to kick-off the winter snowmobile season with the Snodeo," said Jenny Gagnon of Rangeley's Town and Lake Motel (est. 1954). "We've been getting lots of calls asking about the conditions, such as if there are many pressure ridges on the lake (very few). The temperature isn't that bad either," Gagnon joked, "Ten above with the sun shining feels almost balmy after the 30 below we had last week."

The Rangeley Lakes Snowmobile Club organizes and runs the festive annual rite of winter to celebrate the sport, foster fellowship, raise funds for the club and the maintenance of its 150-plus miles of trails and to serve as an economic boost for the community.

Five-year-old Heidi Cavallaro (left), of Westbrook, has her face painted by Carmen Glidden (right) of Rangeley at the Club House Restaurant. The face painting was part of the children's activities program sponsored and run by volunteers from the Wilhelm Reich Museum of Rangeley. (Dan Fayen photo) The local snowmobile club, one of the largest in the state with over 350 members, works hard to continue to improve the event every year. The club added a popular snowmobile freestyle jumping show to the traditional Snodeo events such as the Radar Run, Poker Run, Family Ride, Casino Night, Fireworks, Snowmobile parade, auctions, family activities and live nightly entertainment.

The high-flying professional free-style snowmobile jumpers wowed a crowd of hundreds of appreciative fans as they lofted high from a steel ramp above the Club House Restaurant's parking lot. One of the participants of Saturday's free-style event, Ben Copp, of Cumberland, acknowledged the rising popularity of the sport. "This is the third year it (freestyle snowmobile jumping) has been in the X-games and we have a lot of the great talent in the sport here today. Organizers of the free-style jumping event, RAVE-X of Cumberland, said that given the response they got at this year's event that they would be back next year.

Penny Portalla of Haverhill, Mass. (far left) recorded a strike with her first roll during the 2009 Snodeo Turkey Bowl and got to keep her "butterball" as a reward. The six turkeys used as bowling balls for the event were contributed by North Center Food Distributors for use in the RLRS 8th grade fundraiser for an upcoming trip to Quebec City. Pictured with the turkey champ (from left) Laurie Reed, Edmund Durande (age three) and Penny Portalla (age three). (Dan Fayen photo) Two of the popular mainstays of Snodeo, the Poker Run and the Radar Run, drew scores of participants. The Radar Run, a timed-speed snowmobile event where participants, of all ages and abilities, race down a roughly quarter-mile straight-away on Rangeley Lake's Russell Cove had a couple of interesting happenings. One snowmobile achieved the day's top speed of 132 miles per hour on his sled while another brave soul went the length of the icy course on just one wheel of his motorcycle.

The Snodeo provides a wonderful venue for area businesses and charitable organizations to promote their respective causes while adding family-oriented attractions to Snodeo. Rangeley's Wilhelm Reich Museum annually provides a children's festival and game room in a corner of the Club House with activities and games, and the Rangeley Lakes Regional School sponsors an outdoor turkey bowl (participants roll frozen turkeys to knock down candlepins).

The three-day Snodeo came to a triumphant close with a decorated snowmobile parade through downtown Rangeley.

The success of the Snodeo in large part comes from the hard work and tireless efforts of the members of the Rangeley Lakes Snowmobile Club according to its organizers. "The unity has been super this year between members and the club and the community," said 2009 Snodeo Chairperson Marsha Morton. Snodeo has deservedly become a can't-miss-event for a growing number of fans from near and far.