There are enemies and peril already in the North of Middle-Earth that Sauron would almost certainly infuse with his will and employ with terrible purpose if he had a reason to. Out of universe, much of Tokien's purpose with the Council of Elrond is to ensure that there's only one plausible way forward and only one way to destroy the Ring. Alternative scenarios would likely had turned out far worse for Frodo & co.

The course of events that happened in the books is a pretty desperate scenario as it is, even with Rohan and Gondor eventually joining forces. Then eventually the armies of Mordor would follow, once Gondor and perhaps also Rohan were defeated. Help from LГіrien, Mirkwood and/or the King under the Mountain isn't certain, and besides none of these countries can muster large armies like the humans and orcs can.Д«asically there would be little to no opposition for Saruman's army, if he marched it north.Mordor would however soon crush Gondor in open war, especially if Rohan doesn't come to their aid. Gondor and Mordor is keeping each other in check.It took a visit by Gandalf to stir them to action and even that was after Saruman's orcs had made raids in their land. Rohan has been disabled by Saruman/Wormtongue and will not likely send their army to help.Saruman's betrayal is now known and he has an army which he could as well march north.But if we ignore that and were to speculate that the Ring would have been taken west, then: By taking the wrong course of action, the Elves and their allies would be sacrificing their one chance of victory.ДЄ big picture theme to the story as whole is that the One Ring is a problem of Middle-Earth and that problem has to be fixed there. Sauron would simply continue chipping away at Gondor's strength, eventually overwhelm it and then march north to attack Rivendell and Lindon. He means that throwing the ring into the sea guarantees defeat. Galdor does not mean that Sauron could fight his way past Gondor and Rohan, provision and organise an army to reach Lindon and get it there in less time than it would take for a few riders to reach there from Rivendell, because that would be absurd. March in power along the coasts into the North. Only the waning might of Gondor stands between him and a We should seek a final end of this menace, even if we do not hope toДЄnd that we shall not find on the roads to the Sea,Д¬ourses of action are being discussed here, not actual roads. However, the peril Galdor refers to isn't likely to come on the road itself. This can lead to some confusion when the Havens are discussed, because there is a literal road between there and Rivendell. For example, when Elrond says 'none can foretell what will come to pass, if we take this road or that', he is referring to courses of action, not actual roads. It can also be a figure of speech that refers to following a particular course of action. In British English (I'm not sure about other variants), 'taking a road' doesn't always refer literally to travelling. I know that there are other reasons not to do it, as raised at the council (and also the one they seem to ignore, as I asked elsewhere, that without actively destroying the Ring they'll lose the war conventionally) - I want to know why this reason is treated as a good one. Once there, they just need to get on a boat, sail out a few miles, and drop it in the Sea - which shouldn't be too hard. A group of High Elves and Gandalf (all of whom could arguably individually keep off the Nine even if they were around!) could ride straight along the Road long before anything Sauron had could intercept them. This seems to be rather implausible - the Havens aren't that far from the Shire, and Sauron has no armies or even Ringwraiths anywhere in the region. Have no escape from the lengthening shadows of Middle Earth.вЂ™ The White Towers and the Havens, hereafter the Elves may Of Gondor stands now between him and a march in powerДЄlong the coasts into the North and if he comes, assailing Nine have been unhorsed indeed, but that is but a respite,Д®re they find new steeds and swifter. Heart tells me that Sauron will expect us to take the western Then flight to the Sea is now fraught with gravest peril. вЂIf the return to Iarwain be thought too dangerous, вЂAnd that we shall not find on the roads to the Sea,вЂ™ said One of the objections is that the Sauron would expect them to do it, and that it would be impossible to get it there: At the Council of Elrond, the idea of dropping the Ring in the Sea is raised.

Armies of middle earth