Unless he was frozen to the ground (possible) I don't see why he would be harder to move. You certainly wouldn't have to take any care with his arms and legs because he was going to lose them anyway.
Of course this Brit might have cost the life of those trying to move him because they needed all their strength to get themselves down. I can understand why they left him but it would be a difficult choice.
Has the question been answered yet, did they walk around him and leave him on the way up or on the way down? The "difficult choice" you are talking about doesn't matter if they did the former.