One of the birds we were after was the capercaillie; the largest grouse in the world.  This species is not doing well and to find them you often need to go high into the black pine forests.  This year, due to the record snow, the birds moved to a hard to reach area.  We had to hike up a 40 degree slope for over an hour to get to the lek where the blinds were set up.  We then had to overnight in the blinds to be in position for the birds when they came down out of their tree roosting sites the next morning.  The fact that it snowed another foot that night made it even more interesting.  Given the conditions, we only tried for the capercaillie the one morning and only myself and one client gave it a shot.  All the snow kept the birds from displaying.  Instead they just flew down from their roosts and sat under the black pines where the snow was only an inch or so deep.  I did have one male venture out for a bit and I was able to get one rather obscured shot of him.  Mark my words, we will be back to photograph this amazing species in the future.  I just hope the weather helps us out next time rather than being a total hindrance.  But, hey, that is wildlife photography. You are at the mercy of the elements and the birds.