CRATER LAKE — I had met her earlier, among the bustle of tourists at Rim Village.

Actually, she spotted me. Or, more accurately, spotted my red vest with the logo, “Crater Lake Ski Patrol.” She figured it meant I knew something about snow and ski conditions, so she peppered me with questions.

How far, she wondered as she hooked up a plastic sled to her waist, was it to Discovery Point? To the Watchman? She planned to put her young son in the sled and, wearing snowshoes, hike to Discovery Point or beyond, while her daughter followed on cross-country skis. Was that a workable plan?

The woman, her family and friends from the Eugene area were spending a long weekend at Union Creek. Like hundreds of others, they were enjoying an unusually hot day at Crater Lake National Park.

Enjoying Crater Lake and meeting people are among the reasons I joined the park’s ski patrol. I’m among the 55 members, including 18 from the Klamath Basin. During the months the park is buried in snow, ski patrol leaders hope to have at least six volunteers on duty each weekend resetting signs, skiing trails, contacting visitors and, if necessary, being ready and available for emergencies.

Along with two training weekends — where patrollers get basic training on using avalanche beacons, following compass courses, communicating on park radios and search and rescue scenarios — each volunteer is expected to spend six days, typically spread over three weekends, on patrol.

On patrol

Our Saturday began with a 9 a.m. briefing at the park’s Canfield Building. Supervisory ranger Jason Ramsdell, communications center supervisor Heidi Barker and Dan Monaghan, the weekend’s ski patrol leader, discussed tasks and plans with our crew of first-year patrollers — Andy Hamilton, of Bonanza; his wife, (and my daughter) Molly Juillerat, of Eugene; Amy Egli and Jamie Bierhaus, of Newport; and Rudy Rudzinski, of Portland, who had spent the spring break week on patrol and me.

Patrollers typically spend Friday and Saturday nights in park housing, which feature tantalizing Saturday night potlucks and conversation after finishing patrol duties.

Saturday morning’s chores included resetting signs along Highway 62, heavily used visitor areas near Rim Village and those marking the Hemlock trail and the start of the West Rim trail. The toughest challenge was digging out and resetting deeply buried snow fences.

Chatting with guests

After visiting and answering questions from visitors, including the woman from Eugene, I headed out the West Rim. I turned back near the Union Peak overlook, stopping to chat with skiers and snowshoers.

Savoring the day, the surreal light and shadows, I took photo detours to lake overlooks.

Back at Rim Village

I volunteered to take photos of visitors with their cameras, with the lake in the background, answered questions about the lake and its creation, asked a person to climb down from the community building’s roof. I talked with Larry Smith, who coordinates the winter program for the Friends of Crater Lake, a group of volunteers that provides visitor information from the Crater Lake Cafe’s third floor, assists with ranger-guided snowshoe walks and stays overnight in park housing.

When the woman towing the sled returned to the Rim Village take-off point, I answered her questions about hikes at Union Creek — and emphatically recommended a visit to Becky’s Cafe for homemade huckleberry pie topped with ice cream.

In more than one way, serving on the Crater Lake Ski Patrol can be fulfilling.