Robert Durbin is pictured with his wife. Durbin passed away unexpectedly last year at the age of 29 and Peek’n Peak Resort will be holding the second annual memorial ride for him this Saturday. Submitted photo

CLYMER — Peek’n Peak Resort is honoring a former employee and friend who passed away unexpectedly last year.

The King of the Mountain, Robert Durbin Memorial Ride is set for March 2 at the resort, 1457 Olde Road. Registration begins at 10 a.m. in the resort, with the ride beginning at the top of Chair Three at 11:30 a.m. The price is a $10 donation to the Robert Durbin Foundation and a Rail Jam at the 180 Park will follow the ride.

This is the second annual ride being done in the memory of Durbin after his unexpected passing last year. Durbin worked at Peek’n Peak since he was about 18 years old, passing away when he was 29. JP Hood, Terrain Park manager for Peek’n Peak, said Durbin had stopped working at the resort but was still there often.

“He was a videographer and helped a lot with marketing and making videos for the resort,” Hood said. “He was a rare type of person. He was well known and a good friend, and was good at marketing. He had his own successful YouTube channel. His passing was unexpected and it’s been hard.”

Hood said Durbin also loved to snowboard, which is part of why they are doing this ride in his memory. Durbin was from Pittsburgh but attended Penn State for engineering. He added that Durbin would also do a lot of things with cameras and sometimes even drones.

“It’s not only a ride but there will be a rail jam as well with prizes including a pair of skis and a snowboard,” Hood said of Saturday’s event. “We want to get a lot of the local kids to come and win free stuff. So, there will be the memorial ride down the hill first and then the jam and probably a bonfire. We want his family to know that we are still thinking about him.”

Hood said the day will be filled with sharing positive memories of Durbin, along with fun times, positive energy, smiling, crying, ski and snowboard tricks and will be an overall “exciting day.”

For himself, Hood said the event will mean a lot.

“Robert and I were the same age and he was a good friend,” Hood said. “It’s sad to see a friend you grew up with have something tragic happen to them. I’ve worked here for 17 years, and it will be nice to have a day and to see his family. I was at the wedding and I want to let the family know that people still think about him. I put myself in his shoes and I would want people to do the same for me when I was gone.”

Hood said while Durbin’s story is tragic, people should still try to live their lives like he did: with a smile on his face and not taking things too seriously.

“It’s tough for the community but this allows us to bring back those happier days,” Hood said. “It gets people to the Peek and we will ski and snowboard and have fun doing what we love to do.”