A daunting 14,000ft climb which has left a mountaineer with a number of injuries, has been described by him as “like trying to grip glass”.

Father-of-two Daniel Bouskila has been left with severe blisters on both feet and fluid on his lungs after braving temperatures as low as -23.

He also recovered from two falls as he scaled the Matterhorn, which is on the Swiss/Italian border, with his mountaineering hero Robert Jasper.

But 30-year-old Daniel, of Hind Close, Hainault, has described fulfilling his dream of climbing the near-vertical peak as “awesome”.

He won the chance to climb the mountain after winning the Gore-Tex Experience Tour in February, which saw him do battle with three others as they climbed more than two-thirds of the dangerous north face of the Eiger in the Bernese Alps.

Speaking of his climb of the Matterhorn over two days he said: “It was very hard and very cold.

‘Sheet ice’

“On the first day we climbed for nine-and-a-half-hours to get to the hut.

“It was like walking on the edge of a knife with a 1,000m drop on each side of you.”

He added: “Along the way you had sheet ice. There was granite but it had 2mm of ice over it.

“When you were trying to get some purchase, you were slipping, even with the spikes.

“It was like trying to grip glass, it was ridiculous. Progress was slow.”

Daniel also climbed the 15,000ft Dufourspitzem, the tallest mountain in Switzerland.

He arrived back home last week after the gruelling double climb.

He said of the experience: “It was absolutely awesome.

“It’s a beautiful place to be and some of the mountains are spectacular.”

He added: “I’m glad I got down safely because it was really treacherous.”

A film showing the mountain club is due to be broadcast on German TV later in the year.

Daniel, father to four-year-old Jessica and seven-month-old Jack, got into climbing nine years ago through his father-in-law and brother-in-law James and Andy Chappell