Pointe du Dard, Mountain summit in Savoie, France

Pointe du Dard is a 3,206-metre summit in the Massif de la Vanoise, in Savoie, above Pralognan-la-Vanoise. Its upper section is a broad snowfield broken by dark grey bare rock along the top and right side, with jagged, steep faces. A large mass of exposed grey rock slopes down on the left toward the snow below, where faint tracks cross the surface and thin strips of green vegetation and dark earth edge the lower snow and rock.

The mountain became part of Vanoise National Park when it was established in 1963 as France's first protected national park. Its inclusion marked an important shift toward safeguarding the Alpine landscape in this region.

The summit is popular for glacier hiking and ski touring, activities that draw climbers and skiers to the Vanoise massif above Pralognan-la-Vanoise. The routes cross snow and ice, so parties usually move in guided groups or with experienced companions.

The summit is reached on glacier terrain, so roped travel and glacier equipment are needed; the French sources note the peak is popular for glacier hiking and ski touring. The bare rock faces seen in photographs lie above the snowfields, and the final section crosses rock as well as snow. Allow a full day from lower elevations.

The summit is popular for glacier hiking and ski touring, so parties on the snow are usually roped up. The photographs show the bare, banded rock of the upper face and the snowfields below it, with no vegetation on the summit itself.