I'm traveling to CO this weekend and we're looking for a good scrambling hike. I have a few questions about the flatirons:

1. I see pics/videos of people climbing what looked like 5.x sections of Flatiron 2. That looks really fun going up, but I don't feel comfortable descending. Is there a way to descend on a less steep trail?
2. Follow up to the above question: if someone in our party freaks out in the middle of the 5.x ascent, is it easy to go "sideways" and join up with a friendlier trail or is it a point of no return after about 20ft?
3. Is it icy near the summit this time of year?
4. Which flatiron has more scrambling, 1 or 2?

Thanks!

Number 2 has a very easy dismount to the trail if you top out. I don't think you can go off the side partway up, but I haven't tried. #1 definitely has more scrambling, but is significantly harder, and the climb off is at least as hard as the climb up (same for #3).

Note that #2 takes some route-finding, since it's more broken than #1 or #3.

Many people get into trouble all over the Flatirons, but the second flatiron is notorious for luring inexperienced people on to it. Yes, there are ways off the side of it, but they can be tricky to find and you can get into some hairy terrain very quickly if you are not careful.