Tszilly Couloir

We bootpacked up Tszilly Couloir. The approach was dust on crust. We noticed 5-10cm accumulating over the day. When we got to the base of the couloir we noticed a small crown about 2/3 of the way up. Before committing to the bootpack, we dug down into the snow and found the sugary facets 10cm deep that were mentioned in the bulletin (note that we dug this pit in a slide path, so the depth of this layer would probably be deeper elsewhere), but the snow above the facets had consolidated into a solid crust that was relatively unreactive (CTH 22). A picture of this pit is attached with the sugary facets brushed out. We decided to boot up to the small-ish crown and realized that it was actually 40-50cm thick but had been filled by wind deposits into the couloir. There are pictures of the crown (closeup and faraway) attached. There was also a large cornice hanging over the couloir (see picture) which should be noted for anyone choosing to drop in from the top instead of booting up from the bottom. When we got to the crown we realized the upper slope of the couloir was unsupported from below and turned back to enjoy the goods!

We saw evidence of an older size 2.5 slide that spanned the entire couloir. We also sloughed some very small windslabs that shattered like a pane of glass. Maybe 3-5cm thick, 2-3m across. All avalanches were noted in Tszilly Couloir.