DENVER -- All lanes on Interstate 70 have reopened, the Colorado Department of Transportation said at 5 p.m, after high winds and avalanche danger closed the highway trapping some 2,000 travelers.

Loveland Pass, however, will remain closed Monday night because of avalanche mitigation.

The highway closures started around 6 p.m. Sunday, and eventually extended from Floyd Hill to Vail.

Images: CDOT Cameras Catch Night Closure

CDOT asked motorists to avoid the highway unless necessary and not rush the passes when the roads reopened.

Tow truck drivers spent Monday rescuing stranded motorists.

"With all the people traveling they had to leave their vehicles because they weren't able to make it up the mountain," said Andy Faulkner, owner of Discount Towing. "So they left their vehicle and are calling me to go and pick up their vehicles and bring them to them."

The Colorado Avalanche Information Center said avalanche danger was high Monday.

Loveland Ski Area, which sits on the east side of the Eisenhower Tunnel along I-70, was forced to close for the day because employees and skiers couldn't get to it. It will reopen on Tuesday.

The blowing snow was the result of a 170 mph jet stream roaring over Colorado, according to 7NEWS meteorologist Scott Mace. The jet stream was expected to slowly move northeast by Monday night.

The American Red Cross opened nine shelters in Summit County to house trapped motorists. The shelters emptied out Monday evening.

More than 2,000 people stayed at those shelters Sunday night. The Red Cross said that 170 people were staying at West Grand High School in Kremmling as a result of highway closures.

Extra sheltering supplies, including 1,000 Red Cross blankets, were sent to Summit County Monday afternoon to bolster Red Cross sheltering operations there.

"(Summit County) sheltered more in this storm then the entire region did in the blizzard of 2006," said Red Cross spokeswoman Melinda Epp.

The Red Cross provided cots, blankets and food to stranded travelers at the shelters and planned to keep the shelters opened until I-70 was reopened.

Dozens of travelers using a shuttle service called Colorado Mountain Express were forced to rely on others to get to the airport.

"As we were sitting in the van we hear the dispatch telling the drivers to place their passengers someplace," said Tamera Nesmith of Dallas. "They were not making any more runs."

Jay Ufer, President of CME said all services Eastbound were cancelled around 1 p.m. He said they had been monitoring the interstate closure on an hourly basis and "at some point had to make a decision." Ufer said "this ia part of holiday travel"

The extended closures left no alternative for skiers headed home from resorts in Vail, Copper Mountain, A-Basin, Loveland and Keystone.

P.J. Bailey, 24, left Breckenridge to head home to Denver around 1 p.m. Sunday, but nearly four hours later, she was no further than Georgetown.

"I was told it would get better, but a mile east of Georgetown, there were whiteout conditions. You couldn't even see the front of your car," she said. She pulled onto a shoulder for about 15 minutes but finally decided to head back to Georgetown for the night after watching ambulances drive past.

She was searching for a hotel room Sunday evening. The Super 8 Motel was already sold out.

"You should see this town. There's people stopped everywhere," she said.

Hunter Miller left his home in Grand Junction around 10:15 a.m. with tickets for a Denver Nuggets game Sunday night, but got caught in stop-and-go ski traffic and snow around Vail Pass. It took about five hours to go the 52 miles between Vail and Georgetown, he said.

He and his wife decided to spend the night in Georgetown.

"The weather was so bad, and I'd been in the car so long," said Miller, 25. "I didn't want to drive anymore. I didn't want to risk it."

Loveland Pass closed Sunday morning and would not reopen until later Monday so officials could do avalanche control work near the highway, said Crane.

Call 303-639-1111 or click here for highway conditions throughout the state.

"There is only a chance of light snow expected to fall in the mountains until about midnight, with strong westerly winds through the night," said Mace.

New Year's Eve temperatures at midnight were expected to range from 8 degrees in Denver, to 3 degrees below zero in Vail, to 30 below zero in Alamosa.