The name Pragelato, meaning "icy meadow", has been derived from the harsh climate and the fact that the ground is covered with ice for long periods.

[4][5] On both sides of the Chisone, extensive forests of pine and larch provide protection from the avalanches which are a common occurrence in the winter season: for this reason in the nineteenth century the people of Pragelato were only permitted to fell trees close to the mountain summits, and even then only with the permission of the communal administration.

On 19 April 1904, an avalanche struck the miners barracks of the Beth copper mine in the nearby Troncea Valley, killing 81 people.

Its Olympic course – the Pragelato Plan – has a snow-making system over 10 kilometres (6 mi), and a tourist course winds along Val Troncea Natural Park.

Pragelato has his own alpine skiing areas with about 50 kilometres (31 mi) of slopes and is linked to the Via Lattea ski area, with about 400 kilometres (250 mi) of slopes in Sestriere, Sauze d'Oulx, Montgenevre (France), Claviere, Pragelato, San Sicario, Cesana.