Thanks to the efforts of five volunteers who trekked to Tobogganville at the Camden Snow Bowl in early October, the chute is now sporting a fresh coat of white paint, and ready for winter competitions — or just plain fun.

Abe Rhode, Kristi Van Blarcom, Ian Bogey, David Garner and Peter Berke all chipped in Oct. 5 to paint the toboggan chute, to, "to make it look really good, really slick," said Berke, owner of North Atlantic Painting. "Now, tobogganing is not until February, so we have some time, and this will be all nice and dry. It will be cold and the pond will be ice."

"Exposed to the elements year-round and heavily used for toboggan racing over two days each February, the Jack Williams toboggan chute, built in 1936 regularly needs TLC," said Holly S. Anderson Camden Communication and Outreach Coordinator and U.S. National Toboggan Championships Co-Chair.

During the summer the chute at Camden’s Snow Bowl is inspected for structural defects caused by both use and the elements, including winter frost heaves that can cause sections to become misaligned, she said.

To protect the wooden chute from excessive moisture and rot, the topside is painted nearly every year. The work is often done by volunteers with West Bay Rotary Club, and this year, North Atlantic Painting stepped up.

"Berke is also an avid toboggan racer and moonlights on the event’s organizing committee," said Anderson. "He is also a member of Rotary. We appreciate all the volunteers who help care for the storied toboggan chute, providing support to both the Snow Bowl and the U.S. National Toboggan Championships."

The 35th annual U.S.National Toboggan Championships will take place Feb. 6-8, 2026 at the Camden Snow Bowl.

The championships drawl daredevils from all over the country to slide down the country's only gravity-driven, ice-filled, 400-foot-long wooden toboggan chute with a vertical incline of 70-plus feet. Toboggan racers can travel up to 40 mph before sliding out onto frozen Hosmer Pond in a bid for custom trophies and bragging rights.

More than 400 teams compete, and the event attracts a crowd upwards of 5,000 people annually. Planning is underway and registration typically opens mid-November.