VINGSAND, Norway — Two large black mattresses bounced along the coastline, pausing every so often in front of large rocks and the glimmering sea view. The mattresses — or crash pads, as some call them — were strapped to the backs of two American rock climbers who are among a growing group of people who in the last decade have practiced and promoted a form of climbing that relies on mattresses, rather than ropes, to catch their falls.

Reaching a rock known by locals as the Dalai Lama, the climbers threw the pads onto the ground and changed their shoes, and then it was time to hit the rock.

“It’s going to be an awesome day,” said Beth Rodden, a 31-year-old Californian who in 2008 completed the hardest traditional climb ever created in Yosemite National Park.

It was early July and Rodden warmed up her fingers in a sort of sunburst motion. She then began to feel the boulder in front of her, pinching each wrinkle and fold. Then, right foot first, she was off the ground, dancing in the vertical. If she fell, her black mattress was on the ground just five feet below to catch her.