Early Daze in Co Springs: Gear Guy in Manitou

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Messages 1 - 19 of total 19 in this topic

johntp

Trad climber

socal

Topic Author's Original Post - Sep 4, 2010 - 01:20am PT

Oh Man. Responding to the earlier post on climbing in Austin, I flashed back to Co. Springs in the late 70's, early 80's. The guy had a sewing and resoling shop in Manitou Springs? He made some great gear. He kept the pencil copy of topos for Turkey Rock and other local areas.

It was great to spend time in his shop back when Manitou was off the map, jawing with some of Colorado's finest. I was seventeen at the time.

Who was that guy and where is he now? I wanna sat Steve Kawamoto, but am knott sure that is right.

Miss those times.

Edit: Steve Kamito?

Tarbuster

climber

right here, right now

Sep 4, 2010 - 04:57pm PT

Steve Komito was and is in Estes Park as far as I know.
http://www.enjoyestespark.com/estespark.php?account=262

If he was based out of Colorado Springs area prior, that's news to me; 'before my time out here.
(Billy Westbay would know; but he's hard to reach right now...)

from CLIMB!:

Would love to know if he was in Manitou at some point ... or perhaps learn more about the actual Manitou Man.

TrundleBum

Trad climber

Las Vegas

Sep 4, 2010 - 05:36pm PT

Damn that's a brain teaser.
I stopped in there once.
J.Dunn, Webster, Coyne any of those guys would spit the name right out.

philo

Trad climber

Somewhere halfway over the rainbow

Sep 4, 2010 - 05:41pm PT

Steve (Muff) Cheney

cowpoke

climber

Sep 4, 2010 - 06:06pm PT

^^^cheney was my guess too, but didn't know his shop was ever in manitou

SteveW

Trad climber

The state of confusion

Sep 5, 2010 - 12:13pm PT

I always heard it was Komito, the 'boot taker'!!!!!!

He resoled numerous pairs of boots for me.
I even bought a couple pairs of Galibier boots from him,
the Terray and some double boots too. I'll have to
scan the catalog I've still got from the '70's. . .

maldaly

Trad climber

Boulder, CO

Sep 5, 2010 - 01:37pm PT

philo has it right. Muff was the man. He was re-soling our EBs with rubber from motorcycle tires. When Fires came around we didn't know what the big deal was: we'd been in sticky rubber for years already. In the late '80s he tried to resurrect Bristlecone but I don't think it lasted too long.
Mal

philo

Trad climber

Somewhere halfway over the rainbow

Sep 5, 2010 - 02:59pm PT

Muff was a master at keeping favorite shoes alive. I still have a pair of original EBs with Muff's leather side panels and (shhhhh Brand X) resoles. I think I could still climb 5.11 in them if I could just get the couch to release my backside from it's cozy grip. Mal is right about Fires being a non starter for us Muff-o-files. It was like, "yeah, so?" We got Brand X, SHHHH
!Shame about Bristlecone. Where ever Steve is I hope he is happy. His wonderful work kept me off of the meat cart for years.

philo

Trad climber

Somewhere halfway over the rainbow

Sep 6, 2010 - 03:22pm PT

BrandX bump

Barbarian

climber

Apr 16, 2018 - 03:47pm PT

Resurrecting this old thread.
I'm pretty sure Steve Cheyney's shop, The Cobbler, was on 24th Street in Old Colorado City. Great place. It was 3 blocks from my apartment, so I ended up killing a lot of time there.
Muff stitched some leather panels on my EBs, attachment patches onto my climbing pack, and sold me a beautiful swami he had sewn. The brand name was Cob Webs.
He also had some great get gatherings. Was at one in 1979(?). Pat Ament was giving a presentation when there was some sort of altercation outside, and a guy got hauled off. Later in the evening the place got peppered with gun fire.
Not sure where he ended up, but was sure glad to have met him and for the good times there.

johntp

Trad climber

socal

Topic Author's Reply - Apr 16, 2018 - 09:12pm PT

I'm pretty sure Steve Cheyney's shop, The Cobbler

Yikes! This old thread resurfaced? Yeah, that was the name of the shop. And the name Cheney sounds familiar. Had a swami he made that I retired for a jRat swami and leg loops style harness.

Damn Barbarian, you made me flash back to my youth again; thanks; good times. While in the springs I did a little climbing with Brian Becker and some of his crowd; never met Webster.

10b4me

Social climber

Lida Junction

Apr 17, 2018 - 08:09am PT

Damn Barbarian, you made me flash back to my youth again; thanks; good times. While in the springs I did a little climbing with Brian Becker and some of his crowd; never met Webster.

Did you know, or climb with a Robert Glaze?

Gorgeous George

Trad climber

Los Angeles, California

Apr 17, 2018 - 10:26am PT

Back then I climbed with Lenny (he was 16, I was the older more mature 18 year in college in Greeley). He took me to Cheney's shop, The Cobbler, where I bought my first set of hexes and wedges. Cheney sold us on the clean climbing revolution. I've never in my life driven a piton into a crack.

Still have pictures of us climbing in the Garden.

We'd learn about climbs from Cheney, such as at Turkey Rock, but never saw an actual guidebook until years later.

We'd stand at the bottom eyeing cracks, deciding what to climb. Lenny was famous for telling me: "That looks tenable, why don't you lead it?" My first lead was the Bastille Crack in Eldorado.

healyje

Trad climber

Portland, Oregon

Apr 17, 2018 - 11:44am PT

Later in the evening the place got peppered with gun fire.

...that sounds more Harvey carter...

Definitely.

Tarbuster

climber

right here, right now

Apr 17, 2018 - 01:33pm PT

Pat Ament was giving a presentation when there was some sort of altercation outside, and a guy got hauled off. Later in the evening the place got peppered with gun fire.

IIRC, that story has been told here on the forum, and in good detail.
Might take some digging to come up with the host thread.

okay, whatever

climber

Apr 17, 2018 - 02:06pm PT

I was at Colorado College from 1972-1976, and remember Muff Cheyney well. He'd done most of his climbing in the 1960's, but the Cobbler was a welcome hangout, Muff being a very friendly guy, and encouraging to people of all abilities (e.g. me). Billy Westbay wasn't around the Garden and Turkey Rocks and other South Platte crags much those days, but Doug Snively, Earl Wiggins, Dan McClure, Stewart Green, Kurt Rasmussen, Bryan Becker, Leonard Coyne, Mark Rolofson, and even Jim Dunn were there frequently at times, though they also spent time in Yosemite and Estes Park and elsewhere. Billy's brothers (Rick and Steve, if I remember correctly) also did some climbing back then. Steve Hong and Steve Gropp and Ed Webster were also at CC in those years, and were often at the Garden and other areas around Colorado Springs. Pete Williams was another CC climber who was pretty active.