Mona walked parallel to the crack, moving alongside the wall. She shined her light along its length, trying to see where it began and where it ended.
"It looks like it ends at the stairs. We could cross there. Or we can jump it. If anybody has any skill with stone, perhaps they can tell if the stairs are still stable"
"Ah'll do it" Razh moved over to the stairs, keeping his distance from the crack. The dwarf surveyed the area where the crack met the stairs, dwarf senses examining stone with the skill of a stonemason.
After a minute or two, the dwarf got up from his investigation. He informed the party in his colorful dwarven accent that the first set of steps (I18, I19)were unstable. He wasn't sure how much weight it could take before collapsing but he decided that it was unworthy of his trust nonetheless.
In short, to get around the crack there were two relatively safe ways:
1) Jump across the crack.
2) Jump down the stairs (5 feet minimum) and climb up, avoiding the unstable steps.
Though they weren't slippery, the steps were narrow. While in the current situation, they were not a threat, in more rushed circumstances jumping upon or running over the narrow steps could result in a nasty fall.