Cory Hartman was exactly the kind of guy you wanted beside you on a sunny morning run down a mountain. He loved the clear air, the white slopes and the way his daughters would laugh each time he turned back to grin at them. But a Saturday afternoon at Sugarbush Resort in Warren, Vermont, turned tragic when the 43‑year‑old Hampton, New Hampshire father of three fell on one of the resort’s hardest trails and didn’t come back.
It was mid‑afternoon when Hartman and his family were skiing Stein’s Run on Lincoln Peak, a trail marked double‑black diamond for its steepness and challenge. Witnesses later said he lost control and slid off the edge into a wooded area where ski patrol found him unresponsive. They worked quickly to bring him to the base of the mountain, where ambulance crews took over, but he was pronounced dead from his injuries.
Rescue teams and State Police said there was nothing suspicious about what happened. Hartman was wearing a helmet, the kind he always trusted on every trip down the hill. An autopsy was conducted in Burlington to determine the exact cause, but friends and family already knew this was the kind of risk he took as part of the sport he loved.
Friends describe Cory as adventurous and full of laughter. His wife and three young daughters were with him that day, and they now face a future without his steady hands and warm voice guiding them. Those who knew him say he didn’t just embrace outdoor adventures but embraced life itself.
Within hours of the accident, a fundraiser set up to help pay for funeral costs and give his daughters a cushion for the future drew support from hundreds of people who said they were touched by Hartman’s generous nature. People spoke of his easy laugh and the way he lit up a room with his presence.
People who ski know the mountains ask something of you every time you step onto the snow. Hartman was no stranger to that, and many say he would want his family to remember him on the slopes and in every bright moment they shared together.
The community in New Hampshire and beyond has rallied around his wife and daughters, offering support and memories in equal measure as they try to find solid ground amid sorrow.
