After a long day on the mountain it can be hard to imagine doing much else. The same is often true for some of the most hardworking employees on the mountain — ski patrollers.

From sending explosives into avalanche-prone terrain to attending to injured guests, ski patrollers have every right to go home and recharge before their next day of work. However, several patrollers at Breckenridge Ski Resort prefer to unwind from their work days a little bit differently — opting to come together to perform music. 

Calling themselves Chief Complaint, the Breckenridge ski patrollers routinely perform shows throughout Summit County for locals and visitors alike. Originally formed by two patrollers, the band has since expanded from a duo to a full collection of string and rhythm instruments.

“It started three or four years ago with Bobby, the mandolin player,” Breckenridge Ski Resort patroller Henry Dorris said. “… We have this place in Breck that our landlord only rents out in the winter to ski patrollers. Him and I became roommates and it really started off as a way for Bobby and I to get free beer and to make some money.”

Through the years, Dorris — who serves as the lead singer and a guitarist for the band— has steadily recruited other ski patrollers who are also musically inclined. What was once a two-person band has now morphed into a musical ensemble with a bassist/cellist, a drummer and a Nashville guitarist.  

“I pretty much recruited anyone who wants to play in the band that fits and can do it,” Dorris said. 

With so many different instruments, Dorris best categorizes the band as an “eccentric bar band”. Chief Complaint plays a mix of music that Dorris likes to listen to as well as original songs that he has written over the last several years.

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“We kind of play a lot of stuff that I like,” Dorris said. “I don’t necessarily listen to a lot of mainstream music. … I try to play things that people haven’t heard. It can be older stuff from the 60’s, we do some indie stuff. We do more blues-based folk stuff.”

It is during the shoulder season between skiing and rafting — and vice versa — that Dorris spends his time toying with new original song ideas for the band to perform. 

“I have five or 10 of my own songs that we will play and rotate through,” Dorris said. “I try to do them whenever they come to mind, but as a seasonal person I have a lot more free time in the shoulder season. If there is no skiing or rafting going on I have to fill my time with something.”

The band tries to meet up to practice around once a week before heading to Highside Brewing in Breckenridge for the band’s weekly gig on Friday night. It is at the weekly performance that Dorris feels like he gets to truly connect with the Summit County community off of the mountain and talk to old friends as well as make new ones.

“The more years you spend here the more people you see,” Dorris said. “You meet new people who want to talk about music. My passions are skiing, whitewater and music, and I have kind of turned them into a job somewhat.”

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Beyond the band members who make up Chief Complaint, several ski patrollers periodically split out from the band to form a group named Sloane and The Dirty Boys. 

“We do joint shows with them a lot,” Dorris said. “It usually involves me doing some of our songs and then (Sloane) will come up and part of the band will back her. … She is kind of the other part of it. We kind of always talk about the patrol collective of musicians.”

Most recently, Chief Complaint played a benefit show at 10 Mile Music Hall in Frisco on Feb. 19. The show had no cover charge, but attendees were encouraged to donate to Go4Graham — a charity that is focused on “shredding the stigma” surrounding mental health. 

“Go4Graham is something that a lot of patrollers care about,” Dorris said. “It is one of our patroller’s family’s foundation to honor their brother that passed away. Mental health is hugely important around here. It affects a lot of people out here. This can be a very hard place to live.”

Chief Complaint has several upcoming shows. The band plays at Highside Brewing every Friday night and will be playing a show at the Gold Pan Saloon on Main Street in Breckenridge on Thursday, March 20. 

For future shows and to learn more about the band, visit Instagram.com/chiefcomplainttheband.