Avalanche on Judah

We toured to the top of Judah and arrived at the South end of the ridge.  There was a single ski track going over the top of the ridge directly across a loaded zone into the slope known as the Money Run.  There were several other tracks entering lower on the run, about 30 meters down.  I positioned myself on a safe spot above a rock, and we both set forth assessing the safety of this slope which already had tracks in it.  We were both familiar with this particular spot and the potential for a slide.  My partner checked the snow on the entry to the run 10 feet North of my position and determined that there was about 2 feet of snow on top of a firm layer, determined by his ski pole.  I sensed that the spot he stood on was loaded, and confirmed with him that his backpack with his avy inflatable pack was armed.   He tested the snow with numerous kicks, and found it to be stable to kicks.  However, we were still concerned about the loading.  He traversed North.  I left my safe spot to travel North.  I felt his position where he was standing was a bit risky since there was 2 feet of snow on a firm surface and, rather than following his path, skirted away from the loaded zone.  After I passed abeam the spot where he had been standing, a crack developed and a crown beneath my feet, about 6 inches in depth separated, spread to where he had been standing and the entire top section of the slope, about 30 feet wide, with a maximum crown depth of about 2 feet broke loose.  This snow went downhill, and carried with it the entire new snowpack of the entire gut of the slope to the bottom of the slope, with considerable force, probalby equivalent to a D2.  There was a large cloud of snow at the bottom of the slope.