Shadowing Practice: hiking up to the ice caves - Learn English Speaking with Video

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It's a beautiful day in the Canadian Rockies.

As you can see, it's sunny and warm despite all the snow.

It's only like negative one right now.

And I have a good feeling about today.

We're heading up to some ice caves.

I've never been up here before.

I brought my climbing helmet just in case because I'm not sure what the cave situation is actually like.

So we'll see.

Sometimes I step back and realize how incredible it is to be doing stuff like this.

This is what I pictured myself doing as a kid.

Like just hiking off into the wilderness by myself.

But as a kid I knew nothing about hiking or the outdoors.

It just seemed so impossible and so out of reach.

So the fact that I'm able to do these things now and is actually part of my regular routine is really incredible.

And I just find myself like smiling on the trail, realizing that I'm like healing my inner child a little bit because this is what she would have wanted.

I think I'm starting to get close.

I see some frozen waterfalls way up there.

And if I'm not mistaken, I think that over there might be the ice cave

and a half kilometers in and we've made it to the actual trailhead finally get to get off this road

I'm breathing heavy.

I'm warming up.

Ow.

My hair is stuck in the poles.

I think.

Ow.

Come on.

Ow.

Okay.

I'm getting toasty.

There was a steep bit back there that I was hiking up, and that, in addition to the loose snow, is a bit of a workout, I'm being honest.

We're so close to the ice caves, though, I can see, I think, the cave that I'm going to.

I'm also glad I wore my spikes.

Not really necessary, because it's not icy, but it does help give you some traction in the snow.

Onwards and upwards.

I haven't even hit the steepest part yet, look at that.

The steepest is yet to come.

This is a burner.

My calves are on fire.

My ankles are on fire.

I don't want to talk to you right now, but I'm so out of breath.

It would just probably sound gross, because I'm just like heaving.

But here I am doing it anyway, I guess.

I can't even describe the peace of mind you get.

like if you've done hikes like this you know

but like sorry I'm out of breath the peace of mind you get from just being out here

and it's completely silent like all I can hear is my breathing

and my feet on the snow but when I stop walking it's like nothing

except for my breathing these are the moments

that make me proud to be Canadian this like

when I come out into the woods

or come out into the mountains this to me is Canada and this is the part that I'm proud of.

Like, I drive an hour out of the city and suddenly I'm here.

I'm almost at the top, also, I think.

Actually, probably not.

I am 6.61 kilometers deep.

I mean, yeah, almost at the top, but I have a big spike, so it's steep for a while.

I'm catching my breath.

That's a big-ass ice cave.

Like, I saw the photos, but it looks so much bigger in person.

Right up there.

It's massive.

We made it look at this thing Dude I Know they said it was gonna be an ice cave,

but it's like a ice cave and the best part is I get to actually go inside side.

You know when you pass by something cool like this on the road

or like on a hike and you can't go off the trail, but I actually get to go in here like this is the coolest thing ever.

I probably say that in every single video when I go somewhere new, but this is the coolest thing ever.

I probably have five straight minutes of footage of me just like staring up.

I'm baffled.

I'm amazed.

I'm in awe.

What I said earlier about the ice spikes being optional, not so much.

I feel like those rocks would have been sketchy without the spikes.

Wow, look at this rock.

Rock climbing here would be so fun.

Okay, should we go inside or what?

Dude.

I'm not sure if the helmet's really necessary, and it kind of looks a little goofy, but there are shards of ice on the roof pretty high up, and it's a warm day,

so better safe than sorry.

There's salt crystals up here.

This does go in pretty deep and it's kind of creepy

but I have my headlamp so I'm gonna go in a little bit.

I'm going in.

Alright.

Oh god.

I'm going into the deep dark part of the cave.

And I'm letting you know right now that I'm absolutely terrified, but I'm doing it anyway.

Oh my gosh, look at these ice.

Look at these crystals here.

There's some ice crystals in here.

Some icicles up there that look a little bit dangerous.

Some ice bubbles down here.

Wow.

God.

whoa that's crazy look at those i'm not wearing my glasses

from far away i thought those were like man-made poles

or wooden poles or something

but look at this look at these things they're just ice i'm not sure where the drips are coming from

but that's so cool oh my god that's just ice Look at these little ice mushrooms How peculiar,

100

I was not expecting to see that From farther away, I thought those were like man-made posts or something But they're just ice mushrooms,

101

that's normal Here There's a bunch of them down there That thing is sturdy too, like it's strong So cool

102

The roof is super shiny.

103

I'm not sure if it's ice or some kind of crystals, but it's very sparkly up there.

104

That's deep and dark.

105

Look, my flashlight isn't even lighting it up.

106

I'm not going that far, but let's go a little bit farther.

107

These things are hilarious.

108

All right.

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I think I'm turning back because that looks treacherously dark and scary.

110

Oh my goodness.

111

This is such a cool experience.

112

I can't believe this.

113

I'm going to have to come back down here with some friends

114

and make them go down there with me because I want to see, but I'm kind of scared.

115

Alright, I'm

116

gonna have myself a little breakfast slash lunch.

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It's definitely not morning anymore, so it's more like lunch, but I'm gonna eat a snack, and I'm gonna get myself back to the car because I don't want to be driving home too late.

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I'm gonna eat my lunch right here.

119

I brought an apple, some cheese slices, and some Christmas cookies.

120

Tis the season.

121

So when I was doing my research online about these ice caves, people mentioned to bring extra layers and jackets because it's really cold in there, but I had a little secret trick up my sleeve, quite literally.

122

I'm wearing a heated jacket.

123

This is from the brand Dubu, and they're actually the sponsor of today's video, and the first ever proper sponsor of this channel.

124

So thank you to Dubu for funding our little adventure today.

125

Promise you I would not show you any product or brand

126

that I didn't think was actually good but i love this jacket

127

so much i didn't know heated jackets

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or clothes existed before they sent this to me

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but ever since they sent me this i've been wearing it every single day i wore it last week

130

when we hiked up prairie mountain yo i have internet here it's crazy you have internet yeah

131

and it was a lot colder than it was today

132

and it kept me toasty warm the whole time there's you can set it to high medium

133

or low and there's like a battery pack right in here

134

and it has like 10 hours of battery and i've tested

135

that it actually does have a really long lasting battery so shout out to Dubu.

136

Thank you so much for this jacket.

137

This is a fleece, but I think they have like shells and pants and like vests and things.

138

So if you want some hot pants, keep your butt warm for the winter.

139

Check out Dubu.

140

I think I have a link down below.

141

So I just turned this on and in about five minutes I'm gonna be a much cozier person.

142

The sun is gonna set at like 4 30 and I don't want to drive all the way home in the dark.

143

So I have a bit of a ways to hike back, so I should get going.

144

this is such a perfect day this is what i'm talking

145

about like i just drove an hour out of the city hiked up to some freaking ice caves

146

and then i'm gonna be home in time for dinner

147

like i love long term trips and big excursions

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but like these day hikes are just as fulfilling but much less exhausting Okay.

149

Bye.

150

Bye ice caves.

151

Love you.

152

Maybe I'll see you in the summer.

153

I'm sorry.

154

Hi Coco.

155

According to my all trails, I've done 14.52 kilometers in just about five hours.

156

I was frolicking around in the caves there for a bit, so that added to the time for sure.

157

That was an incredible day, and I definitely want to bring some people and go back

158

and explore hopefully a little deeper into the caves when I'm not alone and scared.

159

I'm going to head on home.

160

Thanks so much for hanging out with me today.

161

I will see you hopefully next time.

162

Bye!

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This video has 162 sentences and 1642 words to shadow. The speech runs for 16:18. The speaker talks slowly, about 101 words per minute, so there is time to copy every sound. Only 80% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding.

Key vocabulary in this video

15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
cave noun	/keɪv/	A large, naturally-occurring cavity formed underground or in the face of a cliff or a hillside.
hike noun	/haɪk/	A long walk, usually for pleasure or exercise.
breathe verb	/bɹiːð/	To draw air into (inhale), and expel air from (exhale), the lungs in order to extract oxygen and excrete waste gases.
jacket noun	/ˈd͡ʒæk.ɪt/	A piece of clothing worn on the upper body outside a shirt or blouse, often waist length to thigh length.
crystal noun	/ˈkɹɪstəl/	A solid composed of an array of atoms or molecules possessing long-range order and arranged in a pattern which is periodic in three dimensions.
steep adjective	/stiːp/	Of a near-vertical gradient; of a slope, surface, curve, etc. that proceeds upward or downward at an angle approaching vertical.
spike noun	/spaɪk/	A sort of very large nail.
trail noun	/tɹeɪl/	The track or indication marking the route followed by something that has passed, such as the footprints of animal on land or the contrail of an airplane in the…
pole noun	/pəʊl/	Either of the two points on the earth's surface around which it rotates; also, similar points on any other rotating object.
pants noun	/pænts/	An outer garment that covers the body from the waist downwards, covering each leg separately, usually as far as the ankles; trousers.
climb verb	/ˈklaɪ̯m/	To traverse a slope or contour, either upwards (ascending) or downwards (descending).
scare verb	/skɛɚ/	To frighten, terrify, startle, especially in a minor way.
sponsor noun	/ˈspɒn.səː/	A person or organization with some sort of responsibility for another person or organization, especially where the responsibility has a religious, legal, or…
mushroom noun	/ˈmʌʃˌɹuːm/	Any of the fleshy fruiting bodies of fungi typically produced above ground on soil or on their food sources (such as decaying wood).
trick noun	/ˈtɹɪk/	Something designed to fool, dupe, outsmart, mislead or swindle.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
check out verb		To record the departure or withdrawal of someone or something (such as guests, employees, books, etc.).
come back verb		To return to a place.
get off verb		To move from being on top of (something) to not being on top of it.
go back verb		To return to a place or state after having been there at a previous time.
go down verb		To descend; to move from a higher place to a lower one.
go off verb		To explode.
step back verb	/stɛp ˈbæk/	To stop what one is doing and evaluate the current situation.
turn back verb		To reverse direction and retrace one's steps.

Grammar in this video

The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:

Structure	In the video
Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now	I've never been · we've made · haven't even hit
Superlatives the -est / the most … — the top or bottom of a group	the steepest · the best · the coolest
Past continuous was/were + -ing — an action in progress at a moment in the past	was hiking · was not expecting · was doing
Advice with “should” should + verb — saying what is a good idea	should we go · should get

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 78 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, gonna, I've. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “th” sounds: breathe /bɹiːð/, cloth /klɒθ/
The “sh” and “zh” sounds: mushroom /ˈmʌʃˌɹuːm/, shell /ʃɛl/, shout /ʃaʊt/, optional /ˈɑp.ʃə.nəl/, gosh /ɡɑːʃ/

How to practise with this video

Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
Shadow it sentence by sentence at normal speed, repeating each one until your rhythm matches the speaker.
Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like cave, hike, breathe.

What is the Shadowing Technique?

Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →

Shadowing Practice: hiking up to the ice caves - Learn English Speaking with Video

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

Key vocabulary in this video

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Grammar in this video

Pronunciation to watch

How to practise with this video

What is the Shadowing Technique?