You find elk where they are, duh! I would start by developing a strategy. Start at high elevation and ideally from a spot you can see different aspects. I'm not sure how much snow is on the north face, but elk can deal with quite a bit of it before they move out. If you're not seeing them at the high elevations, move down and do the same thing - find glassing spots you can see different terrain from. If there are a lot of hunters, try to think about where the elk may go if they are bumped. Is there a saddle that may funnel them to some nasty terrain?
I've come to believe that public land elk hunting is all about being creative. Look for features that other hunters would overlook. Is there a creek crossing to get into some good habitat? An immediate steep climb? Many years ago I glassed a nice bull during rifle season in CO that was less than a half mile from a busy parking lot and just above a trail. He was in some cliffy terrain that you couldn't see from the parking lot or trail. Dozens of people walked right by him and likely never even considered trying to look there probably because it was 'too close to the truck'
