The North Face's Mountain Festival event will see 500 budding Bear Grylls' decamp to the foot of the Eiger Mountain in Switzerland for three days of outdoor activities.

As our collective dependence on computers and the Internet has grown, so too have the varied forms of resistance we employ to combat their influence on our lives. However, in creating apps and spaces that co-opt the consumer desire to balance wellbeing with the unavoidable consequences of modern life, brands such as adidas and Free People have created a new means of escapism.

Now, in a move that can be construed as part marketing ploy, part extreme getaway, American outdoor specialists The North Face have created their first ‘Mountain Festival’. The event will welcome 500 self-styled explorers to Lauterbrunnen in the Swiss Alps for three days of paragliding, climbing and mountain trail running in September.

The participants, who will each have paid £75 ($110, €99) to take part, will be actively encouraged to share their Mountain Festival experiences through social media to generate buzz around the event, and by extension, the brand itself.

The North Face’s synonymy with outdoor activities means that their hosting of an event like Mountain Festival feels and looks entirely organic. However, given that consumers are growing more open to cross-pollinated branding, we may see an increase in similarly themed events from brands not traditionally associated with experiential offerings.