the idea is that he lay down his armour, you see the sword already put in the snow, he isn't wearing it at the moment. in his left hand he is holding a 'map' and in his right hand he isn't holding anything.
that was the idea 
Oh okay I understand now. Hmm. From that angle it's going to be hard to show he's holding a map, since it's a view from behind. Might be easier if you put the map in his right hand, like him holding a piece of paper or something.
So the sword is sticking out of the ground on the left side then? I would straighten the blade maybe, so it is more identifiable. The hilt of the sword isn't lined up with the blade (assuming it's a straight sword and not a curved sword like a scimiitar). I was having troubles distinguishing the sword from the background. I would try making it stand out from the background by making the hilt a little larger maybe.
I like the idea though. The cliff is coming along nicely. Should turn out great in the end.
Edit - Looking at the original rough draft it does appear the sword should be curved. That works, but you need to smooth out the curved blade a bit, probably make it a bit longer too.
