There's still plenty of pizza left in the Great Canadian Travel Draft box. There are the final selections, of course, but also some burning questions: What's at stake here? And if anything is at stake, then who wins it? And why isn't the Gopher Hole Museum (pictured) included? (If you're new to the GCTD, you may also wonder what I'm yammering on about; if so, click here. To see the Round 2 and 3 picks, click here. To read about inadvertent spa nudity, click here.)

Before we all start panicking and running for the emergency exits a la Anatoliy Baranovich, let's deal with Item No. 1. In fact, let's recap the whole shebang, pick by pick:

JIM BYERS
Round 1: Cape Breton and the Cabot Trail drive
Round 2: Niagara Falls
Round 3: Alberta’s Icefields Parkway
Round 4: “The rugged and beautiful shores of Lake Superior; an area even most Ontario folks don't know. Stunning canyons, tumbling waterfalls with no amusement park rides in sight and endless vistas. Not to mention both Winnie the Pooh and the Wawa Goose.”

VAWN HIMMELSBACH
Round 1: The East Coast Trail
Round 2: Beamsville Bench wineries
Round 3: Montreal’s Old Port
Round 4: “Exploring Toronto's amazingly diverse neighbourhoods. Kensington Market, Parkdale, Roncesvalles, The Junction, Little India, Chinatown, the Danforth, Little Korea, Little Italy ... and Vogue did name Queen Street West as the second-best place in the world to find hip street style.”

KARAN SMITH
Round 1: Tofino, B.C.
Round 2: Dawson City Music Festival 
Round 3: Algonquin Park
Round 4: “Watching the northern lights (pictured below) in the Yukon or Northwest Territories. It almost makes you want to use that m-word that travel writers try at all costs to avoid.”

ADAM BISBY
Round 1: Virginia Falls, NWT
Round 2: Whistler Sliding Centre
Round 3: Ottawa’s Carleton Cup
Round 4: “Dinner at the Eagle's Eye restaurant (pictured below) atop B.C.'s Kicking Horse ski resort. There are plenty of world-class eateries in Canada, but this is the only one that offers views of four alpine national parks with a gondola ride to boot.”

ROBIN ESROCK
Round 1: Polar Bears in Churchill
Round 2: Cycling across PEI
Round 3: Hotel de Glace, Quebec City
Round 4: “Walking on the sea bed of the Bay of Fundy at the Hopewell Rocks (pictured below) in New Brunswick. Then jumping in a kayak and paddling around the same rocks as the world's highest tides come in.” 

They’re all pretty sweet – looks like my daughter will have to start hucking lawn darts again to determine the winner (outdoors this time!). The GCTD prize, meanwhile, is obvious: A signed copy of one of Esrock’s new regional editions of The Great Canadian Bucket List. Trouble is, we own these titles already, along with Robin’s line of scented candles and those cozy Esrock-branded Snuggies.

Maybe we don’t need a prize. We’re “professional” travel writers, after all, so in some ways we’ve already won. Unless you believe the Telegraph, which does build a strong case...

So here’s the deal: Tweet me any Canadian bucket-list experience you feel the draft has overlooked, or post it in the comments below (along with your email), and if Ava pierces your submission with a lawn dart you’ll win your choice of the Central Canada, Atlantic Canada and Western Canada editions of The Great Canadian Bucket List. Then all you have to do is show up at one of Robin’s free cross-Canada speaking engagements, mention the Great Canadian Travel Draft as if you’re both members of a secret society, and he’ll hand you the prize with a smile and a signature.

But not with a Snuggie. Those sold out long ago…

Round 2 of the Great Canadian Travel Draft kicks off amid a storm of controversy and recrimination. Himmelsbach is stuck in a meeting. Smith is juggling 17 deadlines. Esrock is surreptitiously calling from the cabin of a taxiing aircraft, and Byers is still a bit miffed about not being able to pick McDavid. I’m still smarting from Smith’s Round 1 Tofino pick, but not matter: With so much at stake – and the actual stakes yet to be determined – these battle-hardened travel writers won't back down without a complimentary upgrade to first class or something!

(To see how Round 1 of this fantasy travel draft went down, click here. For an explanation of what the heck is going on, click here. For a photo of a man in a narwhal costume, click here.)

ROUND 2
Robin Esrock: “Cycling across PEI. Gentle slopes, great seafood, the Confederation Trail, luggage shutte service, sweet coastline. Who needs Tuscany?  Shuck me an oyster...”

Adam Bisby: “A skeleton run at the Whistler Sliding Centre: I spent the scariest 30.45 seconds of my life hurtling down the 2010 Olympic track at nearly 100 kilometres an hour and pulling four Gs in the turns.”

Karan Smith: “Dancing under the red and white striped big top during the Dawson City Music Festival in this dusty Yukon town.” 

Vawn Himmelsbach: Beamsville Bench along the Niagara Peninsula, where you can walk or bike between small, charming wineries. Well worth a visit: Tawse, Malivoire and Daniel Lenko.”

Jim Byers: "For all the amusement park atmosphere around the town of Niagara Falls, there's also an immense beauty to the falls. The majesty and power of the billions of gallons of water that come thundering over the Niagara Escarpment every day is truly awe-inspiring, especially when seem from below on a boat excursion or from inside the rock on the Behind the Falls experience.

ROUND 3
Byers: “Alberta’s Icefields Parkway. The majesty of ageless, dark brooding mountains capped with the fiercest and most pure white snow imaginable. Deep canyons filled with gushing white water in spring. Summer time visits from elk and deer and, yes, powerful black bears. Fall colours that sparkles in the autumn sun. There's a reason the drive from Jasper to Banff is considered one of the finest in the world.”

Himmelsbach: “Montreal! Hanging out at my favourite spa-sur-l'eau in the old port ... on a boat ... with a bar ... and a DJ.”

Smith: “Okay, I think Ontario needs a little more love. Canoe camping in Algonquin Park.” 

Bisby: “Well then how about Ottawa’s Carleton Cup, aka ‘the Ultimate Canadian Triathlon.’ Skating the eight-kilometre length of the world's longest skating rink, running through the Byward Market, and sipping a ‘victory quart’ at a local dive bar.”

Esrock: “Spending one chilly night in the Hotel de Glace in Quebec City. If you can handle it. Many guests don't make it all the way through.”

Stay tuned for the draft’s dramatic conclusion on Wednesday…

I’m hunched over my laptop, searching desperately for a travel story idea that will yield a sure-fire assignment and/or Pulitzer.

At the same time, I’m terribly distracted by the impending NHL playoffs. One browser window is devoted to the latest family getaways in Calgary. Seven others, however, are devoted to the career statistics of Calgary Flames players I’m hoping to draft for my playoff hockey pool. (See how I snuck that in there? Sorry Kings fans!)

Then I notice a newly arrived email from Robin Esrock, a friend and fellow travel scribe who knows all about really good ideas. He undoubtedly had one when he came up with The Great Canadian Bucket List, which has been the biggest-selling travel book in the country since its launch in 2013.

“Heyza Adam,” the note begins. “I'm giving a talk in Toronto on Saturday, April 25. Last time round Rob Ford smoked crack and totally Ford-blocked me. This time I'm promoting my three new expanded regional books: Central Canada, Atlantic Canada and Western Canada (pictured above). If you know any editors/writers who might be interested, fire away!”

I’ve compiled more than my share of bucket lists, but none of them can touch Robin’s coast-to-coast compendium of more than 100 places and experiences. Still, the great thing about bucket lists is that they're all different, and comparing mine with Robin’s, or my wife’s, or that of REO Speedwagon’s frontman, is part of the fun.

Story ideas, hockey pools and bucket lists are swirling in my head when it hits me: Why not run a Great Canadian Travel Draft, where poolies pick Canuck experiences they deem bucket-list worthy? I fire off a few emails to fellow writers and bloggers who might be keen, and in a matter of minutes – OK, by 11 a.m. the next day – I’ve assembled a crack team (not in a Rob Ford sense) of GCTD participants: Myself and Esrock, as well as the talented and terrific Karan Smith, Jim Byers and Vawn Himmelsbach, all of whom host blogs that are required reading for travellers. (A few of our relevant photos appear at the end of this post.)

After my daughter Ava randomly determines the draft order – note to parents: do not let eight-year-olds throw lawn darts indoors – it kicks off with Jim’s first overall selection at exactly 11:18 a.m. EST. (He tries to take Connor McDavid, but then I explain the concept more clearly and we’re good to go):

ROUND 1
Byers: “Cape Breton and the Cabot Trail drive. Joyful views combined with joyous music. You'll find one of the world's best drives, with a road that snakes along the Gulf of St. Lawrence and rises and falls in thick forests of deep green alongside small fishing villages and some of the world's best golf courses.”

Himmelsbach: “Hiking the East Coast Trail in Newfoundland and Labrador, where you can take in stunning views of the rugged Atlantic coastline, often in complete solitude.”

Smith: “Surfing, eating, beach walking – take your pick in Tofino, B.C., the ultimate end of the road town.”

Bisby: “Flying by float plane to Virginia Falls, NWT. The two-hour bush flight from Fort Simpson to Nahanni National Park is almost as thrilling as standing near the crest of this cascade, which is twice as tall as Niagara Falls and infinitely more picturesque.” 

Esrock: “Polar Bears in Churchill. No brainer. The world's most southerly population of polar bears, fogging up your camera lens while you stand on a Tundra Buggy. Attracts wildlife nuts from around the world for the unique experience it offers, plus the chance to experience a few days of life in a remote northern town.” 

That's all for now. To follow the rest of the draft please check back on Monday, and think about where you would pick...

As I get set for tomorrow's Avalanche Skills Training course, offered through the Kicking Horse Big Mountain Centre, I have to wonder: Why am I doing this? I'm working on a related newspaper story, of course, but there's more.
First off, I long to explore the world-class terrain surrounding just about every big ski resort in Western Canada. I did this a lot in my youth, especially at Sunshine Village in Banff, and more recently near Whistler, B.C. The resorts themselves may not overtly encourage it, but trust me: If you're an avid skier, this is bucket-list material.
I was reminded of this today on my first visit to Kicking Horse, near Golden, B.C. Resort staffer (and die-hard Leafs fan) Andy Brown took me on an all-day tour of terrain that included boot-packing to the summit of towering Terminator 2 (pictured at left and below). This is as close as you'll ever get to the backcountry experience without leaving resort boundaries -- the 7,814-foot peak is patrolled and avalanche controlled -- and it reminded me of how much I want to schuss off into the region's untracked serenity and beauty.
That said, a day earlier, I learned the first and most important lesson of backcountry education: I don't know nearly enough about the backcountry. This was reinforced over the course of a morning at Sun Peaks with Bodie Shandro (pictured below in a tree well), who runs the Kamloops-area resort's new All Mountain Skills camp. I won't list all the life-saving tips Bodie provided -- you'll have to take the camp for that -- but he was kind enough to send me his top five pointers for anyone thinking of venturing off-piste:

1. Get educated before you go. Develop an awareness of mountain hazards,  know how to avoid them and what do in the event of an incident.
2. Carry essential equipment.
3. Practice using your equipment before you go.
4. Start in safe easy terrain with a guide or someone with experience.
5. Avoidance is the best way to ski safe. If you have a bad feeling, trust it and find another route.

I imagine tomorrow's course will fill in these crucial broad strokes. Because the desire to head off-piste, and having the skills to do so, are two very different things.    

If anything brightens the post-holiday blues — or in Toronto’s case today, the post-holiday brrrs — it’s the arrival of tardy gifts and cards. And this morning, the Bisby clan received a doozie (pictured). The message inside:

Merry Christmas Guys
From Antarctica
Love Clint

Short, sweet and completely awesome. Our good friend Clinton Berry, you see, is a professional diver on a team of more than 80 researchers, engineers and divers who are plunging into Antarctic waters in an effort to mimic predicted future ocean conditions and study the effects of acidification.

As Clint himself put it (via email): “Working with a lot of good people on a project that is actually designed to help the environment, as opposed to destroying it, is nice.” 

For the first time, scientists are trying to mimic future Antarctic Ocean conditions. When carbon dioxide dissolves from the atmosphere into the ocean, the water becomes more acidic; by 2100, the ocean is predicted to be 2.5 times more acidic than it is today. The theory will be tested by Clint’s team, which is setting up sensor-, tube- and pump-filled underwater chambers that will boost CO2 levels on the ocean floor.

Following Clint on Facebook and via email has been a hoot. So far, he has apparently:

1. Taken part in an overnight training hike where he and his team slept on the ice in orange "bivvie" bags (pictured below).

2. Went for a rip on an ATV and learned how to rescue it from the sheets of blue ice the cover the landscape.

3. Went for another rip on a Hagglund, a tank-like vehicle designed for snowy terrain. He also learned how to drive it in a blizzard using nothing but GPS.

4. Supervised various dives, unloaded equipment from an icebreaker, mocked a TV crew that lost an airborne drone camera…and mailed out a bunch of Christmas cards!

In short, I’m having a lot of fun living vicariously through the pride of Winchester, Ont. (even if he is a Canadiens and a Dolphins fan). And there’s more vicarious living to come (from India; more on this later)…

I’ll sign off for now with a few choice photos from Clint’s adventures. Good luck saving the planet, man!

My daughter Ava and I checked out Oakville’s new iFly Toronto indoor skydiving centre yesterday, and we weren't disappointed. Honestly, the only drawback to the two-hour experience was that it may have encouraged Ava (pictured at left) to pursue a career in jumping out of aircraft, which did seem pretty cool as we gaped at the iFly pros’ mad skills in the 20-metre-tall wind tunnel. And that was before we flew into it ourselves. What did we like about it?

 1. It destroys the holiday doldrums
The second week of the December holidays can be challenging for families: The luster is starting to fade from new toys, dad still hasn’t figured out how to charge the Tiny Tots Toy Taser, and exhaustion is starting to replace the adrenaline rush of Dec. 24 and 25. So what better way to kick-start Week 2 than by being lifted off the ground by hurricane-force winds?

2. It’s great bucket-list prep
I know I’m not alone in wanting to parachute out of an airplane one day. I’m not sure when this will happen — probably once my daughters are financially self-sufficient — but after two minute-long flights with iFly (pictured below) I now know for certain that skydiving is bucket-list material.

3. Just about anyone can do it
It amazes me that children as young as four can take part in the iFly flights; I regret not bringing Grace, 5, along. It actually seemed easier for the three youngsters in our group than it did for the adults, what with their limber extremities and fearlessness. It’s not at effortless activity, with my core and arms having to work quite hard to push back against the rushing wind. But with standard flights lasting just 60 seconds each, my 75-year-old father-in-law, who came to watch (and heckle?), seemed eager to give it a go.

4. It’s simple
The flying itself may not be effortless, but the 30-minute orientation and training session is easy to follow, with the six hand signals — relax, lift your chin, straighten your legs etc. — seeming quite intuitive, especially once you’re airborne.

5. It costs nothing (sort of)
My visit came courtesy of the the Aeroplan loyalty program, which offers “introductory” iFly packages — two minute-long flights with all gear and training — as a 9,500-point reward.

6. The outfits
On one hand, I always enjoy pulling on Super Dave Osborne-style onesies, helmets and goggles. On the other, flyers can't conceal much on their windward sides, and after a week of festive gorging, well, let’s just say the Goodyear logo would have fit right in on my outfit.

7. The show
The lower section of the wind tunnel is encased in glass, with comfortable seating provided for spectators. You can purchase photos from iFly, of course, but friends and family can also take great pix and video.

8. The pro show
After each group finishes their outing, their instructor jumps into the tunnel to demonstrate the eye-popping dives, flips, spins and more that seasoned skydivers can pull off (pictured below). This on its own is worth the price of admission.

9. The ear plugs
The roar of the wind is deafening in the tunnel, so flyers are required to wear disposable ear plugs (hence the hand signals). After a week of fielding festive requests pretty much non-stop, the surreal silence of the flight was strangely soothing.

10. There’s room to grow
Our instructor gave us the option to soar with him “to the top” — right up to the ceiling of the tunnel — for an extra $10. When he first asked, no one in our group accepted the offer, but a couple flyers did during their second flights. I’m not sure why I declined — I guess it was because I was having a good time thumbs-upping my family through the glass — but I’m glad there will be a new experience waiting the next time I fly.