Endless roads, boundless scenery
PRO TREK keeps me company
Hello everyone, my name is Lang Jian, also known as Shi Tou. Let me briefly introduce myself: I’m an outdoor sports enthusiast, a mountaineering team leader, and I enjoy hiking, road trips, and photography. Between 2015–2017, I led teams to summit Africa’s highest peak, Mount Kilimanjaro, three times in a row. In 2014, I climbed the Third Peak of Siguniang, and in 2017, the Second Peak. I’ve hiked routes such as the Luding-Yading Line, Gongga Mountain, Everest’s East Slope, Motuo, and Changchuanbi.
I’d like to share a recent hiking experience that really satisfied me. This trek was something I’d planned for years — successfully completing the EBC + Gokyo Lakes Circuit. It’s a loop trail without backtracking, taking 13 days of full hiking, with the highest altitude at 5,600 meters and the lowest temperature at minus fifteen degrees. Many might think that temperatures like this are not uncommon even in parts of the northeast, so it’s nothing too extreme. But you have to understand that the perceived temperature in high-altitude mountain environments is far lower than the actual readings.
Throughout the trekking and climbing process, my physical condition remained within the expected range, but when shooting the sunset at Kala Pathar and the sunrise at Gokyo Ri, the extremely strong winds gave me quite a hard time — my fingers nearly got frostbitten.
Here's our full EBC itinerary:
D01 Kathmandu – Lukla – Chat (originally planned as Pakding)
D02 Chat-Namche
D03 Rest day in Namche
D04 Namche – Milinggo (village below Tengboche)
D05 Milinggo-Dingboche
D06 Dingboche – Lobuche (Everest Research Station)
D07 Lobuche-Gorakshep-KalaPathar/EBC-Gorakshep
D08 Gorakshep-Lobuche-Zonglha
D09 Zonglha-Cho-la Pass-Dragnag
D10 Dragnag – Gokyo Lake
D11 Gokyo-Ri
D12 Gokyo-Dole
D13 Dole-Namche
D14 Namche – Lukla
Before my trip, Casio kindly sent me the Casio PRO TREK series watch model PRW-60FC-1A. The moment I opened the package, I was captivated by the watch’s exceptional build quality — it’s especially suited to men’s tastes, and I’m totally in love with it. CASIO PRO TREK watches have long had a stellar reputation for performance, and most of my outdoor enthusiast friends choose CASIO PRO TREK series as their climbing companions. As it turned out, the PRW-60FC-1A did not disappoint throughout the entire journey. Compared to previous PRO TREK models, its size has been significantly reduced, improving both comfort and practicality. The instruction manual revealed that the watch houses a wide array of sophisticated instruments, including a third-generation triple sensor, six-band radio wave reception, and a solar-powered system. This only made me more eager to explore its features.
First, in terms of battery life, the PRW-60FC-1A differs from other outdoor hiking watches. It uses a solar power system, so no matter how long you’re outdoors, you never have to worry about how much power is left — nor do you need to consider charging it or changing the battery before your trip. The solar charging is incredibly straightforward: just expose it to light for a short while before use, and it’s good for a full day. It’s truly a high-tech feature in a wristwatch.
After getting a basic understanding and testing the performance of the PRW-60FC-1A, I set off for Nepal in late November. Many outdoor enthusiasts may be familiar with the EBC trek and know it’s a world-renowned hiking route, but they might not fully grasp just how stunning it is. There are various ways to hike the EBC, with different requirements for physical fitness and experience. Simply put, they can be categorized into the traditional conservative route (suitable for most people), the traditional route plus side trails, and the loop route, with durations ranging from 8 to 18 days. Here, I’ll also introduce the strap of the PRW-60FC-1A, which uses a composite material (resin + metal). This combination helps prevent rusting and greatly enhances wearing comfort.
This time, I chose a classic version of the loop route (not crossing the three high passes). The reason I opted for this instead of the three high passes route was mainly because this one covers most of the EBC highlights without the risks involved (the high passes are quite dangerous), and the season was suitable for this route.
This trail features over twenty peaks above 6,000 meters and four peaks above 8,000 meters. You’re surrounded by snow-capped mountains every day, and my favorite part of each day was sipping coffee after hiking and simply staring at the snow peaks in silence.
After gathering in Kathmandu, our group of six flew to Lukla. The weather this season was fairly stable, so we didn’t have to worry too much about flight cancellations. Lukla Airport is built on a cliff edge and is known as one of the most dangerous airports in the world — on average, one plane crash occurs here each year. However, with technological advancements in recent years, the accident rate has been decreasing. If you’re really concerned, the safest options are to hike or take a helicopter.
You’ve probably seen many photos of Lukla Airport. I just took a picture of the small plane. It’s more like a bus station than an airport. Boarding the planes is very casual.
After getting off the helicopter, I checked the PRW-60FC-1A, which showed the airport altitude at 2,860 meters — almost identical to the data I’d found online. So my initial test confirmed that the PRO TREK series provides highly accurate altitude readings. I also noticed that the dial markings are made of metal, emphasizing a high-quality metallic design style. The sense of quality is immediately apparent. The accuracy of the data is thanks to the third-generation triple sensor. And when I’m abroad, I don’t have to worry about time zone differences either — the watch includes world time for 29 cities, and the six-band radio wave reception function is simply incredibly convenient.
Photo taken in Namche. On the left is Everest, on the right is Lhotse.
Since the entire 14-day itinerary was quite long, it would take too much time to go through every part in detail. So I’ll share a few of the more interesting segments. Namche was a big surprise during the trip.
It’s the largest town I’ve seen in the Himalayas. The advantage is that you can buy almost all the supplies needed for trekking here. The downside is that due to the local terrain, restocking is difficult, so prices in that area are relatively high. If you’re looking for affordability, you can also try hunting for second-hand items. This was completely different from what I’d imagined before. I never expected there to be such a large market in the Everest region.
If you’re doing the EBC trek, taking a rest day in Namche to acclimatize to the high altitude is a great choice. Of course, you won’t just be idle — first, you can hike to the Everest Viewpoint, where you can see Everest (8,848m), Lhotse (8,516m), Kangdega (6,685m), Khumbutse (6,367m), Kyashar (6,770m), Tartikha (6,093m), Ama Dablam (6,856m), and Taboche (6,367m), among other peaks. Snow-capped mountains surround you in every direction — a full 360-degree view. Then you can visit the famous Everest View Hotel (claimed to be the highest four-star hotel in the world). The views along the way are spectacular. After lunch there, you can head back down.
Of course, the weather in Namche changes very quickly every day — it might be sunny one moment, then windy and cloudy the next. The mountain climate is unpredictable, and that’s unavoidable.
Everest and Lhotse, along with Ama Dablam, accompanied us from Namche all the way to Dingboche. Ama Dablam is the star of the EBC region — you’ll see it from all angles, and each viewpoint offers a unique visual treat. I also took some fun photos of the PRW-60FC-1A.
Dingboche is a great spot to view Lhotse. There are many place names ending in “che” along the way. The Everest region is mainly inhabited by Sherpas who practice Tibetan Buddhism, and “che” is somewhat similar to the Tibetan word “chö,” meaning roughly “monk” or “lama.”
On the seventh day, we arrived at Gorakshep, which is the perfect place to view Nuptse. We split into two groups here: one going to the base camp and the viewpoint, and another — me and three others — heading to Kala Pathar to shoot the sunset.
By noon, the temperature displayed on my PRW-60FC-1A was still relatively high at 21.1 degrees, which matched my own physical sensation quite well. Let me tell you, in addition to the barometric pressure measurement function and solar power mentioned in previous articles, it also has a temperature measurement feature. The product design can really be said to be very thoughtful. Getting back to the point, under the actual environmental conditions at that time, the temperature would drop sharply as soon as the sun set—anyone with a bit of mountaineering experience knows the climatic characteristics of mountainous areas. Although I was mentally prepared, the actual low temperatures during sunset photography, along with the wind chill, brought the perceived temperature down to at least -25°C. The moment I took my hand out of my glove, it went numb, so I had to keep rubbing my hands and putting them back inside my clothes to warm up. But even in such extreme weather, the inner surface of the watch did not fog up due to the temperature difference, and all the data feedback remained accurate.
Hard work pays off—I managed to capture the most beautiful sunset in the Himalayan region. Although I’ve seen many, the one I witnessed was absolutely breathtaking.
Here, Mount Everest still has very distinct exposed rock faces, which are immediately obvious. When the last rays of sunlight arrived, Everest fully displayed the grandeur of the world’s highest peak. In the words of my teammate, only at this moment do you realize who the real boss is.
Crossing the Cho-la Pass was also a challenge during the journey. The rocks here are fragmented, and you need to cross a glacier, with the descent being a slope full of loose rocks—very dangerous—so we had to start very early. We got up around 4 a.m., had breakfast, and then began climbing. Due to the early start, the surrounding light was quite dim, but we needed data support at the time, and suddenly I remembered that the PRW-60FC-1A has full-auto LED illumination. This feature was truly a guiding light in the darkness. We didn’t reach the pass until after 11 a.m., and the descent also took over four hours. Although the journey was tough, crossing the glacier excited everyone—it was a novel experience!
On the way down, I also tested the PRW-60FC-1A in ice water to check its waterproof performance in extreme conditions, as previous research indicated that the PRW-60FC-1A has 100-meter water resistance and protection against low temperatures. The test results were exactly as expected—of course, there were no issues at all. Moreover, the synthetic sapphire glass crystal also helps prevent damage to the watch's appearance. The materials and functional protections were really well thought out.
Our final stop was Gokyo Lake, which is actually a group of six lakes, with the third lake being the most well-known and the most beautiful. We stayed there for two days, drinking coffee, soaking up the sun, and walking around the lake.
It’s just a pity that we mistakenly chose to go for sunrise photography. Although we were freezing, we didn’t get particularly good photos. I’d recommend that visitors go for the sunset instead, although it’s also very cold at that time.
This EBC trip, although not extremely difficult for me personally, was still quite challenging due to the huge altitude differences. Several team members, ranging in age from 30 to nearly 60, all completed the journey successfully and enjoyed the breathtaking scenery of the EBC region. Truly, it felt like being in hell while your eyes were in heaven!
At the end of this article, I really do recommend that you consider getting to know or even purchasing a PRO TREK series watch. Whether in terms of performance, appearance, or ease of matching, it’s a great choice. This is my most direct impression since receiving the PRO TREK series watch.