K2 Sports
company
K2 Sports, LLC, known simply as K2, is an American sporting goods company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, focused primarily on winter sports equipment. K2 operates under the labels K2 Snow and K2 Skates, as well as its subsidiaries Backcountry Access, Ride Snowboards, Tubbs Snowshoes, Atlas Snow-Shoe Company, LINE Skis, Full Tilt Boots, and Madshus brands. Famous users of K2 Skis include pro champion Spider Sabich, World Cup and Olympic champion Phil Mahre, and his twin brother Steve Mahre, World Champion and Olympic silver medalist.
History
Founding
Founded in 1962 by brothers Bill and Don Kirschner on Vashon Island, Washington, K2 is known for pioneering fiberglass ski technology, which made skis significantly lighter and more lively than their wood and metal contemporaries. In 1967, Bill Kirschner named the company K2 (for the world's second-largest mountain and for the two Kirschner brothers, Bill and Don).
Growth and acquisitions
In late 1969, the company's rapid growth required new capital and Bill Kirschner decided a well-financed partner was necessary. The company was acquired by the Cummins Engine Company of Columbus, Indiana. Then in November 1976, the company was acquired by a private group of Northwest investors. The group, called Sitca, purchased K2 and its subsidiary, Jansport.
In 1982, company management purchased all outstanding shares of Sitca Corporation from the group of Northwest investors.
The public source identifies “K2 Sports” as company. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Sports and company.
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Chronology, provenance and viewpoint should be read together before a broad social or political interpretation is accepted. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 15, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1500866. 2 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1962, 1967, 1969 and 1976.
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This entry incorporates text from “K2 Sports” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.