MANCHESTER VILLAGE, Vt. (April 6, 2006) -- The 237-year-old Equinox Resort & Spa, a RockResort, will host the 1st annual Orvis Cup Hickory Stick Shaft Pro-Am Tournament at the Gleneagles Golf Course in Manchester Village, Vermont on June 5 – 6, 2006. The 2006 Orvis Cup will be the first North American professional championship in recent memory to be contested solely with hickory shaft equipment. Purses and prizes for the tournament are in excess of $10,000.

The Orvis Cup was founded in the early 20th century by George and Louise Orvis. It was originally contested at the Ekwanok Country Club and later moved to the Equinox Golf Links - now the Gleneagles Golf Course at the Equinox. The Equinox Resort & Spa has partnered with The Orvis Company to resurrect the Orvis Cup. The event will be played in its original medium - with hickory shafted clubs and period attire - in honor of the rich history of the Orvis’s, two of America’s most influential golf patrons. The Batten Kill Watershed Alliance will be the benefactor of this historic event, as a portion of the proceeds will be donated to promote stewardship and enhancement of the Batten Kill Watershed in the states of Vermont and New York.

The tournament will consist of a four-man “Better Ball” format over 36 holes with each team including one Golf Professional and three Amateur players. There will also be a 36-hole stroke-play Golf Professional’s contest. Purses and prizes are in excess of $10,000. Play will be conducted using hickory-shafted clubs manufactured prior to 1936. Clubs will be provided at the event courtesy of The Old Hickory Golf Company.

The Orvis Cup will coincide with an exhibit and trade show presented by Golf Collectors Society presented on the grounds of The Equinox Resort & Spa, a RockResort.

The 2006 Orvis Cup Tournament package includes two night’s luxury accommodations at The Equinox Resort & Spa, participation in The Orvis Cup on Gleneagles Championship Golf Course, breakfast, lunch, and admission to the tournament Gala Event – a period reception and dinner held on Monday evening that will feature a “step back in time” culinary event created by the imaginative chefs of The Equinox. All taxes and gratuities are included in the Tournament package.

Rates start at $569 for Amateurs and $369 for Professionals. For more information about the tournament please contact Scott Halnon at 802-362-7870 or shalnon@equinoxresort.com or visit http://equinox.rockresorts.com/info/golf.events.asp

The Gleneagles Golf Course at the Equinox, a repeat recipient of Golf Magazine’s prestigious Silver Medal Award, was also just rated one of “America’s Top Golf Courses” by the Zagat Survey. Golf Digest named the course the 4th best in the state of Vermont, and ranked it among the top 75 resort courses in the U.S. The 18-hole championship-quality golf course was built in 1927 by Walter Travis, and combines a dramatic blend of the past and present in a picturesque mountain setting. A $3.5 million restoration in 1992 by renowned golf course architect Rees Jones brought the course to modern standards within the context of Travis’s original routing while following an environmentally friendly approach.

About The Equinox Resort
Located in Manchester Village, Vermont, the Equinox is a year-round destination, within a four-hour drive from New York and Boston. The 183-room resort boasts a championship 18-hole golf course and seasonal outdoor activities, such as snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, hiking, mountain biking, fly-fishing and tennis. Among the Equinox's more unusual activities are courses in falconry, archery and an Off-road Driving School. The 13,000 square foot Avanyu Spa indulges guests with the ultimate in spa luxury, while remaining true to the historic feel and rustic location of the Equinox. This versatile New England getaway is also an ideal place for meetings, functions and weddings to accommodate from 20 to 300 people. The Equinox was voted the top resort in New England in a Departures readers’ survey (January 2004) and was named one of the “Sexiest Places in the World,” by Cosmopolitan magazine (June 2004). For more information or to make a reservation at The Equinox Resort & Spa, please visit WWW.ROCKRESORTS.COM or call 1-866-379-ROCK (7625).

About RockResorts
The RockResorts collection features casually elegant resorts in six U.S. states. The RockResorts portfolio includes: The Lodge at Rancho Mirage in Palm Springs, CA.; The Pines Lodge in Beaver Creek, CO; Keystone Lodge in Keystone, CO; The Lodge at Vail in Vail, CO; La Posada de Santa Fe Resort & Spa in Santa Fe, NM; The Lodge & Spa at Cordillera, Edwards, CO; The Equinox Resort & Spa in Manchester Village, VT; Rosario Resort & Spa on Orcas Island, WA; and Snake River Lodge & Spa in Jackson Hole, WY. The Arrabelle at Vail Square, a RockResort in Vail Colorado, is also currently under development. RockResorts, based in Denver, CO, is a subsidiary of Vail Resorts, Inc., a publicly held company traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE:MTN). Visit the online pressroom, including downloadable image archive, at http://media.rockresorts.com

About The Orvis Company, Inc.
Founded in 1856 Orvis pioneered the mail order industry in the United States. Currently Orvis operates a chain of retail stores in the U.S. and England, including its Flagship store in Manchester, VT, and maintains a network of over 400 dealers worldwide. Orvis donates five percent of pre-tax profits each year to environmental programs. For more information on The Orvis Company, visit the website at www.orvis.com.

Contact:

Jennifer Forte Cuomo
Laura Davidson Public Relations
Tel: 212-696-0660
Email: jennifer@ldpr.com

Scott Halnon
Equinox Resort & Spa, A RockResort
Tel: 802-362-4700
Email: shalnon@equinoxresort.com