There is a week each October when Longs Peak and Mount Meeker go white while the valley below is still deep green, the whole year balanced on one afternoon. Colorado Grass and Snow lives on that hinge, and when the storms finally reach the flats it is out plowing drives, opening walks and clearing lots before the town gets up. Snow here is fickle by nature: a foot on Tuesday, bare pavement by Friday, and hard ice in the north-facing shade the entire time. So the work runs on the storm's schedule rather than anyone's convenience, with de-icing where the sun never quite lands. A cleared drive on a bright cold morning is a small, complete thing, and it is the point of the whole exercise.