K2 Sports Acquires Karhu and Line Ski Businesses from Trak Sports

** NS will be hosting an exclusive Q&A session with Jason Levinthal of Line Skis on Monday, June 5th @ 10 pm EST in the Ski Gabber forum to answer your questions about the sale of Line **

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

K2 Sports Acquires Karhu and Line Ski Businesses from Trak Sports

VASHON ISLAND, Wash. (June 1, 2006) – K2 Sports, one of America’s leading manufacturers of skis, snowboards and outdoor recreational products, today announced the company acquired the Line ski business and the exclusive rights to the Karhu North American Nordic and Telemark brand from Burlington, Vermont-based Trak Sports USA, Inc. The majority of Karhu and Line’s operations will relocate to the K2 Sports headquarters on Vashon Island, Wash., this summer. The acquisition further strengthens K2’s position as North America’s leading ski manufacturer. The company already markets top-selling K2 alpine and tele skis, and Madshus Nordic ski brands and distributes products in approximately 44 countries.

Karhu’s roots go back to the early 1900s when the brand was founded in Finland. Operations were launched in Canada in 1976 to market and sell cross-country and backcountry ski products in North America. Doug Barbor, who started Karhu’s North American operations in 1976 and has been with Karhu ever since says, “With K2, Karhu is in very good hands to continue to build the brand in North America.”

“Karhu has a rich history in North America for developing ground breaking products for skiing out the back door or deep into the backcountry,” said Charles Lozner, Brand Director for Karhu Sports’ ski division. “Today the brand is driving and benefiting from the resurgence in Telemark and Nordic skiing.

Line Skis, founded by Jason Levinthal in 1995, helped pioneer the surging freestyle and freeride skiing movement. Their innovative twin tip and super fat big mountain skis are preferred by the new generation of skiers pushing the limits of the sport. Line’s progressive designs and credibility with younger riders complements K2’s already strong presence in the hot freeskiing market.