Wyomingtrapper made a very good point in that elk are so big that you are really taking a chance of spoilage on the inner, thicker areas of the carcass if you don't get it opened up so that body heat can be expelled. This is the case even when there is snow on the ground and I've heard of many people say they had spoilage because they thought the weather was cold enough and they didn't break the animal down until the next day. I prefer to lay the meat on a tarp or on clean snow as I debone the carcass until I know it has had time to cool. Burying it in snow before the inner heat is lost on large pieces can insulate it and possibly allow the meat to sour. No matter what the temperature might be, I strongly encourage anyone to debone the carcass ASAP!