Jay Piggott, Paul Prince, Mark Dolan and Stephen France climbed the North-west face of Mt Ionia during the Christmas / New Year break. We took a local farmers jet boat 50km up the Arawhata to near 10 hour gorge on the 27th, then ascended through the bush to a campsite at 1200m. The summit was gained the following morning in deteriorating weather but with excellent snow conditions. A storm set in the afternoon and the next 18 hours were spent tent bound in a storm. After a ripped tent on the morning of the 29th and forecast continued unpleasant weather, plans to continue on to Arawhata Saddle and the Matukituki valley were shelved and we returned to the Arawhata after arranging a jetboat pick-up later that afternoon. The Arawhata was in full flood, over 1km wide in places, and an exciting ride down river to the road ensued, dodging floating trees. A good time was had by all. Stephen France