L'An de l'Aulhèr (L'année du berger) - Denis Frossard

L'An de l'Aulhèr (L'année du berger) - Denis Frossard
(The Year of the Shepherd)

In this pictorial account, Denis Frossard tells us about pastoral life at a time when shepherds and shepherdesses are often dreamt of as a job in the mountain wind. It's a beautiful book of photographs, but above all it's a book of atmosphere, of discovery of everyday gestures that are an ancestral know-how.

It's in the Haut-Béarn region that much of the ewe's milk cheese, the jewel in the crown of mountain pastoral gastronomy, is made.
For 5 years, Denis Frossard followed 13 flocks between the Barétous, Ossau, Aspe and Ouzoum valleys, following their transhumance, life in the summer pastures, milking, cheese-making, life in the sheepfold and lambing.
Here is a pictorial account of his most beautiful photos, with a few captions to help you make your way through the shepherd's year, at the heart of the pastoral soul of the Béarn Pyrenees.


An immersion into the world of shepherds through a selection of snapshots of their daily lives, from herding cattle up the mountain to lambing, cheese-making and milking in the summer pastures. Short texts accompany the photographs.

Foreword by Patrice Teisseire Dufour, reporter and head of the mountain section of Pyrénées Magazine.

Text in French and Gascon, editions Reclams.

The author:

A native of Orthez, Denis Frossard has produced numerous reports on the mountain world for Radio France.
He has also taught literature in Pau, while working as a musician on Occitan and Latin repertoires.
A descendant of Pastor Émilien Frossard, Russell's climbing companion and co-founder of the Ramond company at the end of the 19th century, he has been a photographer for many years and regularly exhibits his work on the Pyrenees at various cultural events.