On certain January mornings the fog rising off the Hudson freezes onto everything at once, and the hills across the water in Rensselaer disappear completely. Cold pools in this valley and stays put — a storm's worth of snow can sit powder-dry for a week, then set up like concrete on the day it finally warms. Snow removal means reading that: plowing while the snow is still light, breaking the pack before it hardens, salting the shaded runs that never catch midday sun. Driveways, lots, walkways and entrances get cleared again each time the sky delivers. The job is over when the ground is bare and the way in is obvious from the street.