Exhibitions

From the heart of Snow Peak, our colleagues in Niigata, Japan have premiered a new exhibition titled THE WAY OF SNOW PEAK. The temporary exhibition at Blank Gallery, from September 13 - December 2, celebrates the tradition of lifestyle innovation and showcases the rich evolution of outdoor design over sixty-five years in the making.

Blank Gallery is excited to take you on a climb into the deep history of Snow Peak. Few companies thrive for more than 65 years, and even fewer are led by three generations of the same family.

Snow Peak was founded in 1958 by Yukio Yamai in the Niigata Prefecture of Japan. After returning to his hometown after World War II, Yukio found solace in climbing Mt. Tanigawa, known for its treacherous and rugged terrain. He repeatedly challenged himself on its mountainside and was rejuvenated by the pure experience under the open sky. He wrote in his journal:

“We link our lives together by a single rope, and it gives us such a beautiful sense of trust in each other. It is such a pure thing. If we could capture the feeling and harness it for the good of society, certainly everything bad or evil would fall away.” 

Yamai was dissatisfied with the climbing gear available. So, he founded a climbing equipment company that would become Snow Peak, creating his own line of mountaineering products leveraging the skilled metal craftsman in his hometown of Tsubame-Sanjo. To this day, the dramatic landscape of Niigata inspires Snow Peak products and serves as home to Snow Peak’s Global Headquarters.