A Swiss limousine driver by trade, Olivier Steiger’s reputation as a photographer of solar eclipses worldwide (including near the north pole) has earned him the nickname “Klipsi”. Since 2000, he has abandoned his post in Switzerland for two months out of the year to chase storms, too. Not a bad gig.The stories he’s told and the pictures/video he’s shared has been well worth the price of admission (see www.klipsi.ch). But his quirkiness (including an abnormally strong affinity for Applebee’s) and humor (consisting mostly of one-liners, almost always with some nerdy meteorological tie-in) have continually brought some colorful comic relief to the long hours on the road. The Swiss accent and the bellowing laughter that followed each joke is often half of why it’s funny.
You have to see/hear him to appreciate it, but I’ll try to recreate his humor in the confines of plain text. Some examples, along with brief meteorological explanations where needed:
The background: you probably know that tornadoes often take on a cone shape. In its last stages, it will begin to look elongated and emaciated, like a “rope”. Hence the term rope tornado, and the act of a tornado “roping out” as it fades.
The punchline: As he’s finishing off an ice cream cone he bought from a gas station as we’re waiting for action on Thursday, “Oh no! Ze cone, she is roping out. Ahahah-aaaa!”
The background: A new technique used by research terms has been to launch probes into nearby tornadoes using a cannon.
The punchline: “It vill bring whole new meaning to ze phrase, ‘Shoot with Canon. Not with Nikon.’ Ahahah-aaaa!”
The background: A tornado isn’t a tornado until it reaches the ground, so one of the best ways to determine the presence of a twister is to search for debris. After all, debris can only come from the ground, right? Commonly, when you see chasers trying to spot tornadoes, you’ll hear them exclaim, “We have debris!”
The punchline: Klipsi spoke of his experience in Australia years ago. After chasing a supercell in southwestern Australia, he and his companions chose to celebrate by hitting up a fancy steakhouse, where they ordered a fine bottle of Australian wine. Money was apparently no object, so they decided to get the finest assortment of cheeses along with it. The waiter was explaining all of the various cheeses, listing them off one-by-one, until getting to some really fancy Brie cheese. Klipsi says, “Oh look! WE HAVE THE BRIE! Ahahah-aaaa!”
Again, maybe you had to be there. Delivery is 75% of the joke. But he’s certainly brought some expertise on eclipse events, and he’s convinced me to go observe the annular eclipse in May 2012 from -- where else -- the Grand Canyon!
We’re cruising west on I-40 in Oklahoma trying to chase a tiny cell that maybe, possibly, (but not likely) turn severe. I better stop writing and start paying attention before I miss something. But first, a nice shot of the 2005 eclipse from the Pacific Ocean...courtesy of our driver:
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