"Whales" or "wales"?

[dlague]

I've always called them "whales" because of their shape. That's what I've always heard as well.

+1 looks like a whale arching through the water.

 

[Scruffy]

+1 looks like a whale arching through the water.

Hey! That whale has wales on it!

 

[freeski]

+1 looks like a whale arching through the water.

View attachment 18637

Yep, size is about right also.

 

[Smellytele]

Hmm...This is a tough one. It reminds me of another question. Does anyone know how the season of Fall got it's name? Never been able to figure that out. Of course it's "whale". :uzi:

It is Autumn not Fall.
I think it is whales but not wales. OP maybe thinking of the word swales which would be almost the opposite of what he is thinking.

 

[Whitey]

+1 looks like a whale arching through the water.

That's the easy answer. However, snowmaking wales also look like the 3 definitions of "wale" that I showed in the original post:

Shipbuilding:

Textiles:

And the Adrian Peterson definition:

So if we are assuming that it is "because it looks like that", then I guess we are no closer to deciding whether it's "wales" or "whales". . .

 

[from_the_NEK]

The Whales are on the endangered species list at Burke

 

[KevinF]

Hmm...This is a tough one. It reminds me of another question. Does anyone know how the season of Fall got it's name? Never been able to figure that out. Of course it's "whale". :uzi:

Wikipedia is your friend: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autumn

The alternative word fall for the season traces its origins to old Germanic languages. The exact derivation is unclear, with the Old English fiæll or feallan and the Old Norse fall all being possible candidates. However, these words all have the meaning "to fall from a height" and are clearly derived either from a common root or from each other. The term came to denote the season in 16th century England, a contraction of Middle English expressions like "fall of the leaf" and "fall of the year".

 

[chuckstah]

"Whale Watcher's" slopestyle event at Loon tomorrow.

http://www.loonmtn.com/terrain-parks/park-events/whale-watchers#.Vp6kA9QrJdg

 

[skiur]

From todays snow report at Killington:

Killington snowmakers are charging down Gateway, Bear Cub and Great Eastern toward Bear and Skye bases, and they are amassing whales in Timberline for the Killington Parks crew to shape into something special very soon.

 

[VTKilarney]

Everyone knows what whales are. About five people who speak the English language know what wales are.

Count my vote for "whale."

Now I'm off the the Ye Olde Ski Shoppe.

 

[Cannonball]

Mike! It's a Fvking baby WHALE kid!!!

 

[gmcunni]

king of snow making has spoken.

 

[makimono]

That's the easy answer. However, snowmaking wales also look like the 3 definitions of "wale" that I showed in the original post <clipped>
So if we are assuming that it is "because it looks like that", then I guess we are no closer to deciding whether it's "wales" or "whales". . .

OP you're confusing yourself.

Whales are what's formed before any grooming takes place. They're the big mounds of snow that form from a snowgun blowing on one spot all night.

Corduroy is what's formed after the whales are pushed around and groomed out. Wales referring to grooming (like wide wale corduroy pants or wales of a boat) is a term you are making up.

 

[BenedictGomez]

Over 30 posts?

I cant believe people are still wailing about this.

 

[Whitey]

OP you're confusing yourself.

Actually, no. Couldn't be any clearer in my thought.

When I considered it the thought came to me that most people assume that it's "whales" because they lack any familiarity with the term "wale" as it has mostly left common usage. However, when snowmaking was starting to develop, the 50-60's, the term would have been more common. Do we know that the 1st usage of the term was because of the resemblance to a whale or is it because it resembled the single raised ridge on a boat or in fabric? Don't know. But I thought it would generate some dialog on the subject. I also figured most of the answers would demonstrate that people assume they "know" it's "whales" but don't really have any reference point beyond assumption. Check and check.

Are you sure that the bumps seen below would have looked like a marine mammal to someone in the 60's or would it have looked like a ridge on a ship on in fabric to them?

But while we are on the subject of confusion, you may want to sort out that a combination of wales in fabric would be something like corduroy. But an individual ridge would be a "wale", singular. So a snow gun would create a whale or wale, a series of guns would create whales or wales. Corduroy is a combination of wales, not a wale in and of itself. Does that clarify or did I confuse you further?

 

[gmcunni]

some whales are bigger than others

 

[gmcunni]

Nice wales

 

[Jully]

Over 30 posts?

I cant believe people are still wailing about this.

I believe you mean people are wale-ing about this still. Or is it whaling?

 

[jrmagic]

Smowmaking.Com uses a totally different term... "Snow is typically produced in piles and stored in piles to allow the water droplets time to thoroughly freeze. Some snow is only frozen like an egg shell and it takes time to freeze 100% the total droplet. So most resorts prefer to leave snow in piles for 8 to 10 hours before pushing them out."

So are they right in calling them piles or should they be pyles?:banghead:

 

[freeski]

If you poke a snowmaking whale with your pole it smells like fish. Case closed.