YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, Calif. -- A heart transplant survivor has added another first to her long string of mountaineering feats since getting a new heart 13 years ago -- a dangerous 2½-day climb up the sheer, 2,000-foot face of Half Dome in Yosemite National Park.

Kelly Perkins, 46, and her husband, Craig, led by big-wall guide Scott Stowe, began the climb Thursday and reached the top of the iconic 8,842-foot-high dome yesterday afternoon.

Perkins says she chose Half Dome for her latest climb "because it's broken in half but it still stands strong. There's a spirit-building message there. You may not be 100 percent, but you can still be as strong as others."