RANGELEY — A Massachusetts man broke his legs late Thursday afternoon after his snowmobile hit a small pressure ridge on Rangeley Lake and he was thrown off, Maine Warden Reggie Hammond said Friday.

The accident happened at about 5 p.m. on the first day of the Rangeley Snodeo that runs through Saturday. The accident was not connected to any of the events.

Thomas Walsh, 63, of Ipswich, Mass., was riding with other snowmobilers in the vicinity of Hunter Cove when the accident occurred, Hammond said. He ended up with two broken femurs, the bone in the upper leg, Hammond said.

The Rangeley Fire Rescue Department set up on shore to assist. Walsh was taken by a NorthStar EMS ambulance to the Steven A. Bean Municipal Airport on Taylor Road, transferred to a LifeFlight medical helicopter and taken to Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston.

The 2012 Artic Cat snowmobile Walsh was riding was a total loss, Hammond said.

dperry@sunjournal.com