Gandalf winter, they crossed "under" the mountains through the Mines of Moria, though only Gimli the Dwarf was enthusiastic about that route. In Moria, they discovered that the Dwarf colony established there earlier had been overrun by orcs. The Fellowship fought with the orcs and trolls of Moria and escaped them. At the Bridge of Khazad-dûm, they encountered "Durin's Bane", a fearsome Balrog from ancient times. Gandalf faced the Balrog to enable the others to escape. After a brief exchange of blows, Gandalf broke the bridge beneath the Balrog with his staff. As the Balrog fell, it wrapped its whip around
The Lord of the Rings beginning with its publication in the 1950s, but especially throughout the 1960s and 1970s, during which time young people embraced it as a countercultural saga. "Frodo Lives!" and "Gandalf for President" were two phrases popular amongst United States Tolkien fans during this time. Parodies like the "Harvard Lampoon"<nowiki>'</nowiki>s "Bored of the Rings", the "VeggieTales" episode "Lord of the Beans", the "South Park" episode "The Return of the Fellowship of the Ring to the Two Towers", the "Futurama" film "", "" episode "Lights! Camera! Danger!", "The Big Bang Theory" episode "The Precious Fragmentation", and the "American Dad!" episode "The Return of