Snowstorm at the Redhorn Pass

[CAB]

Originally Posted by Jon S.

That they would risk the mines - and also, thereby, the Ring - was just not something I thought Saruman was expecting.

I agree with you there and I would guess that Gandalf did too. It would be pretty hard to avoid an ambush if the enemy knew that you would be coming out of a particular door at some not too far off time.

Originally Posted by Jon S.

To those of you who ruled out Saruman as the cause: on what grounds?

My thinking, when this thread was first active, was that the maker of the snowstorm had to be someone on site. The weather seems to "react" too quickly to the movements of the company to be controlled this way by someone having messages relayed to him by birds over miles and miles. But, looking at it now, with his Palantir this wouldn't be an issue for Saruman. On the other hand, if he spotted the company with his Palantir, then he should have known that they would be coming out of (or be lost in) Moria, and should have had forces waiting for them (or at least in route to Moria if the distance was too great) on the other side.

I wouldn't completely rule Saurman out, but I still think the most logical explanation is that the power that gave the company trouble was the same one that had given Caradhras an evil reputation for thousands of years. There is no indication that the crebain spotted the company, at least (and even then only possibly) until they were coming down from the pass and it seems pretty clear to me that Saruman never saw the company in his Palantir.