South of town the highway tilts up toward Raton Pass, and a storm that crosses that grade arrives in Trinidad with its mind already made up. Elk Horn Excavation Inc. works the dark hours against it — plowing driveways and lots, cutting a clean lane to the door, spreading ice melt where the shade keeps a walkway slick past noon. There is a particular satisfaction in the first pass of a blade, the way a buried yard turns back into a place with edges. By the time the sky goes gray over the mesas, the ground is ready for boots and tires. Snow removal for Trinidad, Starkville and the small places tucked along the pass road.