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Experienced rock climber dies after fall in Little Cottonwood Canyon

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SANDY, Utah — A man fell to his death while rock climbing Sunday afternoon in Little Cottonwood Canyon.

Unified Police received a call reporting a fallen climber around 1:15 p.m.

The climber was traversing a section called "Becky’s Wall" near Gate Buttress when a large rock he was holding onto came loose. He fell about 30 feet, the rock landed on him, and he died instantly.

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Area near Gate Buttress in Little Cottonwood Canyon

He was identified Monday morning by authorities as Mason Boos, age 25, of Salt Lake City.

“The rock’s about the size of a Subaru and about three feet tall,” UPD Sgt. Ed Twohill said.

Salt Lake County Search and Rescue crews responded and recovered the climber's body.

Officials said Boos was an experienced climber.

“It is kind of hard to wrap your brain around,” Twohill said. “Kind of looking for ‘What could I have done better?’ [and] who to blame, and there’s just nothing. They did everything right and it just broke.”