Arizona is known for being hot in the summer and mild in the winter, for cactus and the desert, and outdoor activities such as hiking and golf.

Here’s one that tends to go under the radar: skiing.

That’s right, skiing. Massive mountains that appear to be plucked from the Colorado Rockies. Multiple chair lifts, even a quad or two. Runs ranging from conveyor-belt beginners to tree skiing and hike-and-ski bowls above treeline.

“People come to Arizona and they’re shocked; they’re surprised that we even have skiing,” Arizona Snowbowl general manager J.R. Murray said. “Then when they come and see the mountain and how great it is, they really are pleasantly surprised.”

What Arizona doesn’t have is a lot of choices. The Grand Canyon State has four downhill skiing areas: Snowbowl and Elk Ridge in northern Arizona, Sunrise Park near the New Mexico state line and Mount Lemmon above Tucson.

Snowbowl is the only ski area with snowmaking capabilities, but snow hasn’t been a problem this season.

After years of drought and hit-or-miss snow on the mountains, Arizona ski areas have reaped the benefits of El Niiño as one storm after another has moved across the state. Snowbowl was 100 percent open around the Christmas holiday and had 58 inches of snow from a series of storms the second week in January,.

“We elevated to almost epic conditions with all that fresh snow,” Murray said. “The skiing in Arizona right now is as good as it gets.”

An added benefit is the deals that can be had.

High season in towns such as Flagstaff and Greer, where Sunrise Park is located, is in the summer, when people in the southern part of the state head north to cool off. So while hotel rates can be exorbitant down in Phoenix and Tucson, deals are there to be had in the mountains, leaving extra money to ski multiple days.