In the underbelly of Christy Sports’ new 1,800-square-foot building in Dillon, assistant managers John Lindhorst and Dennis McLaughlin chat about what continues to make one of the state’s most respected ski and snowboard shops special after all these years.

For longtime Summit County locals like Lindhorst and McLaughlin, the spirit of winter sports is the tie that binds the business together.

“I think we are in the culture,” McLaughlin said. “We love what we do, and we love talking about what we do. We love talking about making people’s experiences better. We have a state-of-the-art shop. Everything is new, the building is just over a year old, and we have all new tuning equipment from Wintersteiger. But I think what really sets us apart, beside the building, is the people.”

Fall means making the switch from summertime business, which is focused on patio furniture sales, to the company’s bread and butter: winter sports. Whether it’s at the Dillon location, the company-owned Lone Star Sports in Breckenridge or one of several other store locations across the county, employees take pride in providing a rental or tune experience where customers leave impressed by the knowledge shared by employees and the quality of the labor and products provided.

Lindhorst and McLaughlin credited the Dillon store’s General Manager Adam Gillespie with instilling and maintaining the store’s ski culture thanks in part to how active Gillespie is in the local winter sports community.

McLaughlin said Christy Sports takes pride in maintaining a standard of trust and respect and has employees who uphold that by being willing to step in and provide service to customers with selflessness and humility.

“It’s about the people operating the equipment,” McLaughlin said. “We have very experienced guys in the tune shop. Throughout the whole store, there’s a lot of experience.”

Christy Sports is at 817 U.S. Highway 6 in Dillon, 805 N. Summit Blvd. in Frisco and 213 N. Main St. in Breckenridge. The chain also maintains seasonal locations at Copper Mountain Resort, Breckenridge Ski Resort and Keystone Resort.