Pass of Caradhras

A difficult and dangerous route that formed one of the few passes to lead through the Misty Mountains. Its route led eastward through the high valley formed where Caradhras met Celebdil among the Mountains of Moria. They were known in the Common Tongue as the Redhorn and the Silvertine (and the pass itself was more commonly called the Redhorn Pass).

The route of the pass ran approximately southeastwards, leading up into the mountains from the land that had once been known as Eregion, and crossing between the two peaks before descending into Nanduhirion, the Dimrill Dale, on the other side of the range. The descending part of the pass (to a traveller from the west) led through overshadowed valleys filled with streams, from which it took its name of the Dimrill Stair.

The pass was attempted by the Company of the Ring as they sought to find a way across the Misty Mountains. They found the way over the mountains impassable, in part - apparently - due to the ill will of the mountain Caradhras itself, perhaps under malign influence from elsewhere. It was this failed attempt at the Pass of Caradhras that drove the Company to seek another way through the Mountains, a way that took them into the depths of Moria.