>>2734217They have everything you can imagine and stuff you didn't think possible. That said, I don't hate the east either and the NE is comfy for out whereas some random mid-elevation offtrail hikes I've done in AZ are amazing but I always have to question whether I should go into this ravine or up that cliff because I don't want to end up in the news.
In winter in central and northern AZ, every perennial creek turns into an ice fall, some complete some incomplete like pic related. You could be driving along the Rim in January or February and see crazy ice falls over most of the 100+ mile drive.
https://www.mountainproject.com/area/123717101/woods-canyon-ice 