I hunt the north slope of the Flat Tops during October for elk. Most years, it snows up at 8,500-9,500 ft where we hunt. When it snows, you can tell what animals are doing (and have done) by reading tracks. I have never seen any evidence that snows in mid-October influence mule deer or elk distribution in any significant way. Those snows are typically gone in a few days, even the knee-deep accumulations. If animals had moved down off the open top above the timberline, I have seen no evidence of it.
I am sure that there have been years in which it started snowing in mid-October and just kept on, making it necessary for those animals above timberline to move down. However, it hasn't happened in the last 20 or so years that I have been hunting that particular ranch.
