Sky Hook

Original Vintage Sky Hook

Rather than hooking on the sky as the name implies, a Skyhook is designed to hook in, or onto, small cracks or ledges in the rock. Whilst the tendency in modern times is for free climbing, back in the mists of time aid, or artificial climbing, was much more in vogue and climbers would make their way up the rock face by whatever means possible so when things got pretty blank a skyhook might be the only way to proceed. Pretty scary and only used as a last resort, a suitable crack would be found, the hook hooked on and the climber would attach a sling and stand in it hoping for better things to come. There are legendary stories of climbers making several consecutive skyhook moves knowing that if one didn't hold the whole lot would fall out with a big' whipper' the only result.

There is no maker's name on these four sky hooks, but we know they are similar to Clog and Chouinard