Minarets High School is located in O’Neals, CA and was named after the Minarets mountains that surround the school off in the distance. With beautiful peaks and mountains in the Sierra-Nevada area, you’d assume more schools than just Minarets would have a club quite like the Glissaders Club we have here but this newly formed club, on its second year of being active, is unique to not only us but to our entire school district as well. When asked by one of the advisors of the club, Mr. Vaughan, he responded “Probably not” when asked about there being any other schools with a club like this in specific.
Glissaders Club got its name from the term “glissade” which references a type of
sliding down technique that mountain climbers use on snow-covered slopes. Though not a strictly mountain climbing group, they have taken backpacking trips and hiking trips as well. The whole point of the club and what makes it significant is, according to Mr. Vaughan, whom I interviewed, “It gives students a chance to connect with nature...Katharsis provided by nature”.
Their last backpacking trip was last month when Mr. Vaughan and Mr. Hansen, second advisor, took along with them 11 of our fellow Mustangs who are in the club to Twin Lakes. Despite being one of the smaller clubs on our campus, the reason for not many people attending is, “Wilderness permit only allows 15 people per trip”. For Mr. Vaughan, his highlighting moment for the trip was, “Hiking Kaiser peak, helping students experience the wonders of nature"
A wonderful club that is slowly gaining traction amongst people who go to our school, it gives an experience that anyone who is intimate with nature or wants to experience it will appreciate. However, don’t wait too long to join in on this club because if you’d like to experience what this club has to offer, “We will have a trip in May” hints Mr. Vaughan. And applying is as easy as completing an application and attending their meetings for any future updates.
