DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Temperatures were hot — a morning high of 80 degrees and rising. Ideal weather for local dress, a thobe and gutha, or for the visitor, shorts, shirt and sandals.

Pass through a door, past a half-dozen shops in one the world's largest malls, and there the snow was firm, with a light dusting of new crystals made the night before, and cold. Parka and ski pants were necessary. Gloves and ski hat were optional.

Outside, it was summer; inside, winter. Outside, it was a city of high-rise buildings, freeways and hardly a bump in the landscape; inside, there was a mountain of snow enclosed in a giant refrigerator, complete with a warming lodge, chairlift and, upon request, ski and snowboard instructors.

Ski Dubai is an indoor mountain of snow, roughly 6,000 tons of it, with five runs, two main ones for skiing, close to 1,200 feet long and vertical drop of some 203 feet from unloading to loading.

Which is little more than a bump to a Utah skier used to vertical drops of 3,000 feet, runs more than a mile long, and a hundred or so routes to choose from. But in a land of sand and camels, a snow-covered ski hill, built indoors, is a wonder to behold.

Ski Dubai is at the foot of the Mall of the Emirates, the third-largest shopping mall in the world — 400 retailers, 65 restaurants and a 14-screen theater. A short distance away is a larger mall, the world's largest.

From the outside, the ski dome looks like a giant water tube tilted downhill. From the inside, it looks like winter, complete with a snow-covered playground; snowboard park, called a "Freestyle Zone"; toboggan and sleigh runs, using tubes and plastic sleds; and a four-person or quad chairlift.

One of the main ski runs is fairly gentle, and the second is said to be the only indoor black-diamond run in the world.

To a longtime skier, the opportunity to ski indoors — in a place surrounded by skyscrapers and asphalt, where the only other snow comes in a cone and temperatures never come even close to freezing — was an opportunity too tempting to pass.

The lift starts loading at 10 a.m. Lift lines are never a problem, they say. Only about 25 percent of those who enter the snow pavilion ski.

Most play in the snowy playground at the base, "just to get the snow experience. Most of those who come here have never seen snow, let alone have the opportunity to play in it or ski," said Lucas Marchand, operations manager.

The cost for two hours of lift service was 180 dirhams or about $50. A full-day pass was about $60.