The easiest route on Mount Maude and one of three classic Entiat Mountains 9,000-footers climbed from a shared high camp in Leroy Basin, alongside Seven Fingered Jack and Mount Fernow.
Drive up the Chiwawa River Road (Forest Road 62) and then Phelps Creek Road (Forest Road 6211) to their end at the Phelps Creek Trailhead; the last several miles are rough dirt and can be tight for low-clearance vehicles. From the trailhead, the Phelps Creek Trail climbs gently through forest for about 3 miles to its crossing of Leroy Creek, which can be a difficult ford of high, fast water before August. Across the creek, an unmaintained but well-worn climbers' path turns north and climbs steeply for roughly 1.5 miles before leveling out into Leroy Basin, a large open meadow around 6,100 feet with established campsites and reliable water. From camp, follow the climbers' trail south to a saddle at about 6,840 feet southwest of Mount Maude. Leave the trail here and hike east up the broad open ridge to meet Maude's south ridge at roughly 7,700 feet, then follow easy terrain along the ridge to the summit. The same basin and saddle can also be reached from the east via the Ice Lakes/Entiat River approach, which is considerably longer but avoids the Leroy Creek ford.
Descend the ascent route; the broad south ridge and slopes have no significant route-finding hazards in good visibility, making this one of the more straightforward descents in the Entiat cluster.