FABIUS -- The ski lifts, lines and slopes at Toggenburg Mountain have been packed over the past few days. Some of the crowds have been due to school vacation week but the Olympics have also put a lot of people into a skiing or snowboarding mood.
"It makes me think about how I want to be better so maybe I can train for the Olympics," said Isabel McReynolds. "I know I might not get there but I want to try."
Toggenburg's management says the Olympics traditionally inspire a lot of people to try winter sports but that snowboarding has really taken off in recently.
"Over the past couple days, we've had a lot of families come in, a lot of people who haven't done it before," said Nick Mir from Toggenburg Mountain. "They come in get their rentals, get a lesson and most of them go out and have a blast."
Snowboarder Max Schaffer said he had mixed feelings about the increasing popularity of snowboarding and the number of boarders on the slopes.
"During competitions it will make it harder because more people are snowboarding - but more people are snowboarding so that's good," said Schaffer.
Bryn Manserela wasn't exactly at Shaun White's level but for her second day on a snowboard she was looking pretty good. She had a few hard falls but every time she dusted herself off and headed back to the lift. She said that the snowboarding she saw on the Olympics looked like fun and she wanted to try it.
"It's fun but I fall a lot."
She liked how fast the board could go and when she got tired - she found out that the board was also a pretty good sled.
