TEENS ON PATROL.

Byline: Andrea Damewood The Register-Guard

WILLAMETTE PASS - Crawling out of a cozy bed at 5 a.m. on wintry weekends isn't on the to-do list of most teenagers.

But, when every run at the Willamette Pass ski area stands open and untouched in the early morning chill, the members of Camp Fire Ski Patrol Youth Team say the loss of sleep is totally worth it.

They call themselves the SPY Team for short, and in many ways the group is a covert force, completing essential tasks that keep things on the mountain running as smooth as fresh powder - such as ensuring sleds are fully stocked after a rescue, checking runs at the beginning and end of the day, and shovelling snow from the roof of the patrol hut.

"We're kind of behind the scenes, making sure things are ready without people noticing we're there," said 18-year-old member Ian Lunger, who is in his fourth year on the team.

On Saturday, the team gathered at the pass in temperatures barely clearing the zero-degree mark to begin the day's work by measuring the snow depth and sweeping the runs.

"I have to remember that I'm going to get warm at some point," said Simon Leach, an eighth-grader at the Eugene Waldorf School in his first year on the SPY Team.

"They definitely get you right into it, so it's not boring at all."

Up next is training in spinal rescue techniques.

The team straps Kaylee Brown, team coordinator and registered nurse, to a backboard while she gives them feedback on their technique.

The training gives a head start to SPY Team members who aspire to work on the Ski Patrol or to study in the medical fields, said Kaylee's husband and team co-coordinator Dave Brown.

Many graduates of the Camp Fire program - which began in 2001 and is limited to about a half-dozen youth - have gone on to participate in patrols, he said.

One former member is in pre-med courses at Southern Oregon University.

Lunger and Leach said they'd like to join the Ski Patrol and possibly become emergency medical technicians.

But Leach said he's not quite sure, "because I'm 14 and haven't really thought about my life yet."

If the youth are the SPY Team, then Dave Brown is the SPY master, doling out training and responsibilities - on the mountain and off.

"I make a rule: School work never drops," he said. "If it drops, I shut off their ski key."

Finding that balance can be difficult, as the team will often spend a 12-hour day on the mountain, only to drive all the way home to come back the next day.

"It's also preparing you for life better," Lunger said.

"You're going to have to work long hours in a job."

Whitney Bergfeld, a freshman at Willamette High School, said she has an agreement with her parents that most of her work gets completed before the weekend.

Having her weekend free for the SPY Team is a strong motivation to get homework done on Friday, she said.

And there's also the skiing.

Despite this year being only her second season of skiing, she is nearly ready to take on the most difficult black diamond runs because the team gets in plenty of skiing with the free pass they get for their participation.

"I like the skiing part of it, but I just like helping people too," she said.

"When you watch a patient walk out of (the patrol station) in not as much pain as they were when they came in, it's nice."