<<"Hello all. Will be in Zurich for 2-3 days March 30-April 1 with 2 teens & a 9 yr old. I assume it'll be still cold. Is it still possible to get tours of Alps (any mountains like Titlis, Pilatus, etc) or will it be all snow? Any greens at lower elevations like Lucern? I was told cogwheel train will be closed but think aerial cable cars will be running. Lastly, will it be brutally cold? Any help appreciated!!">>
Different cogwheel trains and different lifts will have very different schedules.
One way to find out is to use the timetable, and check for days when you know a particular lift is running,, and also for a day when you think it might not be.
By far the best experts on all that are Arno and Annika, the forum moderators. However, I'll make a guess - the cograils at Lauterbrunnen, Wengen, Grindelwald and Kleine Scheidegg will be running. Some of the lifts are there to serve skiers, and there is still a lot of snow on the ground at the end of March....as long as you are at high altitude.
Any question about temperature has to include the elevation of the location. Check some of the web-cams at various places around Switzerland, and you'll see the temperature differences.
It is common in daily weather forecasts to give the altltude at which the temperature will drop to zero degrees Celsius on each night (or day) as a partial guide to snow conditions. It can get very cold up on the Jungfraujoch..
For contrast , there are palm trees growing on some of the westward facing slopes that get a lot of sun....Montreux, Weggis.....
As another example - the very popular, really stunning easy walk from Männlichen to Kleine Scheidegg is probably accessible all winter for skiers by chairlift from Grindelwald. However, the big gondola car lift from Wengen only opens starting around May 30, so that you cannot easily get up there from Wengen until then. And, due to exposure where the trail passes around Tschuggen, the trail itself may well be closed or partly closed in the winter.
At lower altitudes you will be having significant signs of Spring at the end of March, but snow is certainly possible.
As you have phrased the question(s) the answer to each will be either "yes.' "no." or "maybe," depending on what altitude you are at, and the amount of daily sunshine . Same for what transport will be running.
It is certainly true that the winter season is tapering off by then, so not all hotels and facilities will be open.
Most people don't "take tours" of the mountains. They just get on one of the frequent trains, go there, ride up and down on the service to the top, eat, hike, stare, ski, whatever, and turn around and come down.
There is no reason to commit to a tour, which thus gives you flexibility if the high mountains are cloudy one day and not another.
Have you got any specific locations that interest you?
A good map + a timetable will help.
map.classic.search.ch/
and -
www.myswissalps.com/ti metable
.
Slowpoke.