I buy mine every summer at the lowest price. Only the locals do, with a few exceptions. In my first 2 days on the hill my pass is covered. I only buy for Kirkwood as that's the only place I go. I gets lots of free passes to go other places in the area but rarely use them. Life is good.
Discussion
Kirkwood is awesome.
Of course, buying early is always a plus, but the daily pricing is ridiculous, be honest. I come from the days of $30 a lift ticket. My first season pass, at Brighton, $350. Zero black out days and free parking....
Fiat ruins everything, eventually.
I come from the $30 per day lift tickets era as well. We never really thought about a season pass back in the day. Now though, holy crap!!! Just ridiculous and so far out of reach for most. Which means they don’t get a chance to experience the mountain in winter time. Tragic.