Not elk, but deer in our case. Back behind our camp in central Pa. there's a spot where the deer have been traveling for centuries. It's a trail that drops down over the side of a mountain into a hollow, and the path is so beat down, they've actually created what ammounts to another hollow where they walk that trail.
About 25 years ago we had a terrible ice storm. Everything froze slick and very slippery. The deer would move across that trail and drop down the steep sideslope, slip and fall, break their pelvis and die an agonizing death. There was a pile of deer laying at the base of that slope that died the same way. I don't remember the exact humber, but I think it was in the 30's. The locals call that spot Death Valley and for a good reason. Ma Nature can be very unforgiving.
