Same thing crossed my mind. If I could have at least stuck around without jeopardizing my life, I would have. But if he were too far gone, I'm not sure I would have risked my life either. Sounds harsh, but one can only do so much in the face of danger without risking their own life.
Unless horrible weather threatened, how could it be worse to stay at the same spot on the mountain vs. keeping on going up?
Oh, and I would expect that Sir Hillary is a BIT of an expert on the matter of Everest climbing.
"But if he were too far gone, I'm not sure I would have risked my life either."
Some of them were going UP. They were already risking their lives, they just chose to risk it for superficial fame instead of for a fellow human being.